The taxpayer-funded Motability car scheme has been accused of handing its boss a “shameful” pay rise after receiving £3bn in disability benefits money.
Chief executive Andrew Miller saw his total remuneration package rise to over £900,000 this year, including more than £300,000 in bonus payments.
The Government is under pressure to examine whether the sums are too high, amid claims they “make a mockery” of taxpayers who partially fund the scheme.
It follows a major overhaul of the car scheme, with “luxury” models such as BMWs and Audis removed, and tax exemptions ended by Chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Budget.
Pay and bonus package rises to £924,000
The company’s revenue from leasing cars to disabled benefits claimants rose by more than 20 per cent to £3.5bn last year, its latest annual accounts show.
Just over £3bn worth of personal independent payment (PIP) money was handed to Motability in the latest financial year, the Government’s own figures show.
Miller – who became Motability’s chief executive in 2021 – received a 9 per cent base pay rise to £501,000 in 2025. The boss took in another £327,000 in annual bonuses, the accounts show.
Pension payments and other benefits – including car allowance and private medical cover – took his total remuneration to £924,000. It amounts to a 24 per cent increase on Miller’s previous annual earnings of £748,000.
‘Princely pay rise’ condemned
Matt Ryder, the former head of Motability policy at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), criticised the pay and bonuses.
“Motability is a state-backed monopoly, dependent on taxpayer funds. Its CEO should be paid in line with senior leaders in the public sector – not executives in large businesses who face genuine competitive pressure,” he told The i Paper.
The TaxPayers’ Alliance expressed outrage at the “princely pay rise” for Miller.
Elliot Keck, campaigns director at the right-wing thinktank, said it “makes a mockery of the British taxpayers working their socks off to ultimately pay for the Motability scheme.”
Calling on the Government to look at how much the company’s executives and directors make, Keck said Motability should be “formally considered part of the British state, with pay rises and bonuses governed in the same way as the rest of the public sector.”
Linda Bamford – the former convener of an accessible transport advisory body to the Scottish Government – said the level of executive pay was “shameful and wrong”.
Bamford pointed to a 2018 National Audit Office review of Motability Operations, which raised concerns over the “generous” pay and remuneration packages. “But rather than address this, they have used ways to still pay excessively,” she said.
Conservative MP Helen Whately, the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said the executive pay was a “disgrace”, adding: “Motability is meant to support genuinely disabled people, not bankroll huge management pay packets.”
Car scheme grows to 890,000 PIP claimants
More than 890,000 people now use the Motability car scheme, up from 815,000 the previous year. The growth in numbers reflects the wider rise in PIP numbers, with 3.9 million people now claiming the benefit.
Disabled people who receive PIP hand over most or all of the benefit’s mobility element – worth £300 a month – to lease a car. Many of the available cars also require an upfront payment, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand pounds.
The company received £425m from its disabled customers in upfront payments – up from £345m the previous year.
Bamford said Motability was not using its wealth to do enough for disabled people, suggesting the company was “charging disabled people more than needed for their leases.”
“This is where the UK Government should be focusing rather than raising costs and demonising disabled people.”
Motability has said the advance payment for a three-year lease will have to increase by an average of £400 after the Chancellor imposed VAT and insurance premium tax at the recent Budget.
Miller – who did not mention his own pay and bonuses in the latest annual report – said the changes “will make it even harder to maintain our outstanding customer experience.”
A spokesperson for Motability Operations said: “The changes to executive pay reflect the experience needed to lead a large multibillion-pound company through significant change in an efficient and responsible way to deliver for disabled people and the country.”
The company said the scheme would “continue to evolve to manage the recent tax changes”.
Miller also suggested the rise in customers may be curtailed if the Government chooses to restrict PIP eligibility next year.
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Disability minister Sir Stephen Timms has raised the possibility of changes that restrict PIP eligibility – but not until after a review expected to end in autumn 2026.
A Government spokesperson said: “We’re reforming Motability and saving the taxpayer £1bn over the next five years, while the Timms Review is making sure PIP is fit and fair for the future.”
