Good post, Big Dave. Like most here, I knew nothing of this report. It is, or at least could be, vital to our fate as disabled people needing motability solutions. Far too much on the report to go into details all at once. Will try, given time to do so. Immediately, however, I reckon the following bit of the report is the heart of the matter:
“Although the PIP eligibility criteria and reassessment process are outside of the scope of this report … many respondents made reference to them in their submissions. Given the force of those comments, we suggest that the Department [for Work & Pensions] … may wish to take the opportunity presented by an imminent Green Paper to consider some of the practical and financial impacts of its policies and processes on claimants’ ability to use the Motability Scheme.
For example: reviewing the length of PIP awards (particularly for life-long and progressive conditions)”
A valid conclusion and recommendation (there are many others). But I do not think the department will do anything about it. The very introduction of PIP meant that the DWP must have considered “the practical and financial impacts of its policies and processes on claimants’ ability to use the Motability Scheme” PIP was specifically designed to drastically reduce said ability of claimants. Cannot see the department doing a complete about-face on this. It would mean it was wrong and to blame for wrongly depriving the disabled of a benefit. Being wrong and to blame are two things a government department is not allowed to do.
Similarly, the problem of regular reassessment for “life-long and progressive conditions” will remain unaddressed. If a condition is degenerative it does not get better. It is a total waste of time and money to keep assessing it. Will the DWP own up and say it must take the blame for being wrong on this? Ah, there are those two unallowed words again.