Driven to succeed

Forty years ago today, an idea was born that was to transform the lives of disabled people and their families. On December 6, 1977 David Ennals, then social services secretary in the Labour government, announced the formation of a new body to administer the mobility allowance paid to the disabled, to give them the flexibility that goes with owning a car rather than the unsafe, three-wheeler trikes previously used by disabled people. The idea was Motability. Today, the charity oversees the biggest car fleet in Europe, with 620,000 vehicles currently on the road, many of them specially adapted. Over the years it has provided some 4.5 million cars, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs and given users the opportunity to have a normal life.

Motability was a cross-party venture established by the late Lord Goodman, a Labour lawyer, and Lord Sterling of Plaistow, a Conservative peer who remains chairman. Its purchasing power means it can buy and lease cars at well below the market cost. Dozens of manufacturers, insurers, banks and specialist converters offer discounts, cheap loans and the specifications that are needed by disabled people, many of whom may be on low incomes.

When Ennals announced the creation of Motability, he envisaged what was essentially an advice service that would also negotiate discounts and other special arrangements. That it has turned into the remarkable enterprise we see today is a tribute to its founders and the many thousands who have worked for and supported Motability over the past four decades. Moreover, it is an object lesson of what can be achieved when the state is prepared to let the private sector help deliver what might otherwise be considered a public service.