hello there

my dad has a motorbility car using the higher rate mobility component of the dla, due to various medical problems

he has last week gone into hospital after having quite a bad stroke

currently, I am using his car to take family members to visit him in hospital, after an enquiry to check this was ok - motorbility say "Provided your dad is deriving material and/or practical benefit from the car and has access to it when required, he does not necessarily have to be present every time the car is used. For example if you do not have your own transport and you are using your dad's car to visit your dad or you are taking family members to visit your dad on a regular basis, he is receiving benefit from his car" mean that yes its ok for this use, I do have my own transport btw.

but in some of the leaflets about stroke we have seen, it says dla will stop after 28 days - will the payments for the mobility car also stop? / car have to go back? I can foresee he will be in hospital for a while.

thanks for looking

Hi

My mother sadly no longer here had a motability car and when she was in hospital we had the same concerns about the car and they could not be more helpul at that time and as my father drove they just immediatley added him to the insurance and classed him as an additional driver but we made sure everything was in writing to basically be on the safe side if anything happened with the car.

I think you need to contact Motability and get it in writing that you are allowed to drive that car.

* They insure via RSA and RSA do need to know if there are any additional drivers of the vehicle for insurance purposes. So you would need this in writing from Motability that you do not require to inform RSA that you are an additional driver of the motabvility vehicle.

* They do have a policy on additional drivers but in hospital circumstances its always best to be open and inform them of the circumstances they will do there best to help you but please ensure you ask for it in writing to keep you on the safe side especially with the insurance.

Here is a link to Motabilitys Website: www.motability.co.uk

On there website at the top Click Car Scheme

Look down the left side for Customer Zone and Click

Near Middle of Screen Click Nominated Drivers

That Info may be useful

I seem to remember that if the mobility part is paid to motability, that part isn't stopped; but it's stopped if you receive the mobility part as cash.

the insurance part is sorted, I have been a named driver on the policy for two years

its the dla stopping and possible loss of the car should he stay in hospital that is of concern - mainly to my mum at this stage, am sure that when he comes out of hospital we will need that car more than ever

The answer as per this link to the NHS advice site is that no, Motability will continue even if the hospital stay lasts longer than 28 days.

thankyou

My Dad who had a stroke in 2011 has a wheelchair car that requires me to drive, to get him about,

he has moved into a care home and I have a letter from the council saying his DLA must now stop

- I thought Motability was part of it

- will he lose his car?

I believe he will lose the care component of his DLA, if any, but keep the mobility component, which pays for his car.

Hi,

This is from the Nidirect.gov website.

My understanding is that from what you say above, the Mobility Component should not be affected unless the Local Trust is helping pay for it.

You really need to clarify the funding arrangements, in order to be sure. I would also speak directly to the DWP and not just take the Councils word.

Residential care and nursing homes and benefits

A permanent or temporary stay in a residential care or nursing home can affect your benefits. Below are a list of benefits and how they may be affected if your stay is permanent or temporary.

Benefits and home fees

If you are receiving benefits and your circumstances change, you need to tell the Social Security Agency. You will probably have to contribute most benefits you get towards your home fees.

• Jobs & Benefits offices, JobCentres and Social Security Offices
  

Moving into a home should not affect the mobility component of your Disability Living Allowance (DLA). It will also be disregarded when your local Trust is calculating how much you should contribute towards the cost of your care.

• Health and Social Care Trusts
  

If your local Trust is funding your residential care or nursing home fees, both the care component and the mobility component of your DLA may be affected. You should contact the office that normally pays your DLA for further information.

Should you happen to loose the DLA MOTO component then they normally take the car back 28 days after the DLA stops.

I must add that the Motobility Car people are thoughtful people and when we had to give up our Moto car they allowed us to keep the car another 2 weeks after the return time was up as my wife's Mother died shortly after my wife lost her DLA award. They did this so we could still have use of a car for the funeral.

I was told by the person who came to collect the car that they take the cars straight to auction now, So I guess that's why there's so many 3 year old cars on the forecourts of garages now. I was also told that there's is the chance to actually buy the car from them (not sure if this is true)

Have Motability been informed they are in a Care Home as you may need to inform them, see this link: http://www.motability.co.uk/cars-and-wavs/customer-area/your-agreement-named-car-drivers

If none of the named drivers live at the disabled customer’s address, or the disabled customer lives in a care home where a number of drivers have access to the car, we may consider fitting a location tracker. This is to ensure the customer is gaining direct benefit from the car. We will always speak to the customer to discuss this in advance of a tracker being fitted.