If you want to be involved with the community, you will find below; the latest disability-related news, articles and events in Haringey.

At Disability Action Haringey (DAH), we are extremely concerned by the changes to the Motability Scheme due to come into effect from July 2026. Let’s be clear: these are not minor adjustments. They represent a significant rollback in the support that enables D/deaf & disabled people to live independently.

For thousands of people, Motability is the difference between participation and isolation, employment and exclusion, independence and reliance. Weakening that support is not a technical change it is a political choice.

The reduction in mileage allowance, increased excess mileage charges, tighter limits on tyre replacements, and new fees for travel abroad. These changes disproportionately affect people who already face the greatest barriers those who rely on their vehicle for work, care, medical appointments, and simply to live their lives.

This is fundamentally at odds with the Social Model of Disability. Disabled people are disabled by barriers, not by their impairments. Accessible transport removes those barriers. These changes are reintroducing those barriers.

We are particularly concerned about the narrative underpinning these decisions that these reductions reflect “typical usage.” Disabled people’s lives are not “typical,” and policy based on averages will always fail those with greatest need. A scheme built on independence cannot be reshaped around restriction without consequences.

Let’s also be honest about the wider context. These changes do not exist in isolation. They come at a time when D/deaf & disabled people are already facing sustained pressure from rising living costs, barriers to employment, and ongoing uncertainty in the benefits system. The cumulative impact is not just financial it is about autonomy, dignity, and rights.

Framing this as a necessary response to rising costs shifts the burden onto disabled people themselves. That is unacceptable. If government policy is increasing the cost of running the Scheme, then the solution cannot be to quietly erode the support people depend on.

There has been a failure here to meaningfully engage with D/deaf & disabled people and their organisations. Decisions that fundamentally affect people’s independence must be co-produced not imposed.

At DAH, we believe this sets a dangerous precedent. If schemes designed to support independent living can be scaled back in this way, what comes next?

We are calling on Motability Operations and the Government to urgently reconsider these changes, to engage directly with D/deaf & disabled people, and to commit to solutions that protect not undermine independence.

 

Because independence is not a privilege. It is a right.

Phil Stevens, CEO, Disability Action Haringey

Combatting Digital Exlusion

We have 150 SIM cards with 20GB data a month, plus free calls and texts, for six months to help tackle digital exclusion.

If you would like to get one of these SIM cards, just email us at: info@d-a-h.org to apply.

The offer is on a 'first come, first served' basis but you may request more than one card for family members and friends.

Each application is assessed on an individual basis - contact us for more information.

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