Motability chief set for £2.2m bonus

THE boss of a taxpayer-supported business that supplies cars to disabled people is in line for a £2.2million windfall, the government spending watchdog has revealed.

An inquiry into Motability by the National Audit Office (NAO) also found customers had been charged £390million “more than was required” since 2008.

The scheme, made up of an operations business and two charities, accounts for about 10 per cent of all new cars bought in the UK. The £1.7million pay package of Mike Betts, Motability Operations’ chief executive, was recently described as “totally unacceptable” by the work and pensions and Treasury committees.

The NAO found Mr Betts was also in line for a bonus which was worth £1.86million in September, and is likely to reach about £2.2million by 2022.

Frank Field, the work and pensions committee chairman, said: “It is beyond appalling to learn that money that could have been used to improve the lives of disabled people will be lining his pockets instead.” Under the Motability scheme, mobility welfare payments are transferred to Motability Operations in return for a leased car, along with insurance, maintenance and roadside assistance.

The MPS said potential rivals could not compete with the company because it received substantial tax breaks.

The NAO found remuneration for executive directors had been “generous” and linked to performance targets set at levels “easily exceeded”. In the first seven years of the bonus scheme, five executive directors received £15.3million in total. Motability Operations’ forecasts on the value of used cars had been out of line with the market average, resulting in customers being charged £390 million too much to cover lease costs since 2008.

The watchdog also found Motability had generated more than £1billion of unplanned profit since 2008 and held £2.62billion in reserves as of March 31. The organisation exclusively benefited from tax concessions worth up to £888million in 2017. It said Motability deserved credit for achieving overall customer satisfaction of 99 per cent, but had made little effort to understand why only 36 per cent of eligible customers used the scheme.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said the NAO report “strengthens our concerns regarding Motability Operations’ financial model” and insisted the department was working with the charity to achieve “improved outcomes for disabled people”.

In response, the Motability charity said it would “seek improved mechanisms to better influence Motability Operations’ executive remuneration”.

The Labour MP John Mann told the Daily Mail: “If this man had a shred of decency, he would walk away in shame now.” Last night it was reported Mr Betts would be stepping down from his role, but would stay on until May 2020 to support whoever takes over.