DWP PIP and DLA claimants lose £750 from January as benefit scrapped

People claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will lose a £750 benefit from January.

A one-off payment of £750 was given to people with disabilities to help them get a brand new car on the Motability Scheme, but the New Vehicle Payment has now been scrapped.

It was introduced to help benefit claimants manage with the increasing price of new cars and was paid as a lump sum towards an advance payment on a new vehicle.

Mobility vehicles are available to people on the higher rate mobility components of PIP and DLA, or Adult Disability Payment (ADP) and Child Disability Payment (CDP) for those in Scotland. Those on the veterans’ benefits Armed Forces Independence Payment and War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement also qualify.

Under the Motability Scheme, if the car you chose had an advance payment Mobility would send £750 to your dealer to put towards this cost. If the advance was more than £750 then you’d have to pay the difference, and if it was less than £750 then you’d be sent the rest of the cash after you got your new car to spend how you chose.

The money could only be used towards the cost of your car’s advance payment, but couldn’t be used to pay for adaptions or optional extras.

The New Vehicle Payment was due to end on December 31, 2024 for new customers, but the deadline was extended until January 3, 2025 to give claimants the chance to order if car dealerships were closed over Christmas.

This deadline has now passed meaning PIP and DLA claimants who order a new car will no longer qualify for the £750 cash.

In a statement, Motability warned: “Anyone who orders their first car or Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (WAV) by 3 January 2025 will qualify for the £750 New Vehicle Payment.

“If you order your first vehicle from 4 January 2025, you will not be eligible for this payment.

You do not have to collect your vehicle by 3 January 2025, but you must have completed your order with your dealer by this date. You’ll only get this payment once, not every time you get a new vehicle.”