Disabled Kettering pensioner hits out at 'unfair' rules after he's denied mobility car

Mike Smith, 76, uses a mobility scooter to get around because he cannot walk properly and is in constant pain.

He says he was very active until a botched operation on his legs three years ago left him lop-sided.

The Windmill Avenue resident receives the Attendance Allowance benefit, a payment for those who have reached state pension age and are disabled. He had hoped to use it to get a mobility car through the Motability scheme to increase his independence, but said he has been told he can’t do so because Attendance Allowance doesn’t qualify for it.

Had the botched operation taken place eight years earlier, before he reached the age of 66, he could have claimed Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which are qualifying benefits for the Motability scheme, and could still have a mobility car now.

Mr Smith said: “If I was under 66 I could have qualified for one and I could have had it for the rest of my life, but because I’m over 66 when I was made disabled I don’t qualify. I just couldn’t believe it.

“I have paid taxes and national insurance all my life and never had a sick day, always being active and working. But just because I am over a certain age when I need a benefit I can’t get it? It just seems particularly unfair.”

Mr Smith’s case was raised with Mims Davies (Con), the Government minister for disabled people, health and work, who said that it was the Government’s view that the differences in age-based entitlement between the three benefits are ‘reasonable’.

In a letter seen by the Northants Telegraph she said: “A special mobility allowance is not provided for those whose disability needs arise after the age of 66 as it is normal that many people will develop mobility issues as they get older.”

But Mr Smith said decisions should be taken on a case-by-case basis to take into account people like him who need mobility support after accidents, rather than because of old age.

He said: “Up until I had the operation I was playing badminton, table tennis, golf, I was out every day doing some form of exercise. I was fit until I had this operation – my suitability for a mobility car is not because of old age. I think I’m being unfairly treated.

“I cannot go anywhere far on my own without a car really and that’s not my fault, or down to my age. This benefit should be for people of any age who are disabled. Having this car would make my life a lot easier because it’s a struggle. I just do not know what to do.”