Driving inclusion: how the Motability Scheme champions disability sport
Gavin Thomson, Managing Director Scotland and Chief Operating Officer at Motability Operations, sets out how the Motability Scheme is creating opportunities for those participating and wishing to participate in disability sport.
Sport has an incredible capacity to bring people together. Over the summer we saw the magic of the Olympics and Paralympics uniting us all, even those of us who were not in Paris were able to feel involved and inspired by the Games.
This year’s Paralympics was particularly engaging for the team at Motability Operations as we had the privilege of being able to follow and cheer on one of our Motability Scheme ambassadors, Robyn Love.
I’ll talk more about Robyn’s story shortly, but like other elite athletes in Scotland she has been welcoming the fact that they could have the opportunity to compete in a home games, with Glasgow hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026. A unique opportunity for Scotland to showcase its commitment to accessibility and inclusion, helping talented sportspeople reach the top of their game.
But sport is not just for elite athletes. It should be accessible and fun for everyone in Scotland and that’s why we’re proud supporters of Scottish Disability Sport (SDS), the governing and coordinating body for disability sport in Scotland.
Together with SDS, we’re raising awareness about the wide range of disability sports available across the country, providing opportunities for disabled people to access them alongside their family members. We’re also increasing understanding among eligible Scots, who are not yet using the Motability Scheme and benefitting from the independent mobility it provides.
The Motability Scheme, delivered by Motability Operations, helps more than 84,000 disabled people across Scotland by keeping them connected to work, education, health care, and friends. We provide an all-inclusive leasing package for cars, wheelchair accessible vehicles, powered wheelchairs, and scooters, which includes insurance, servicing, and breakdown cover.
Robyn Love is not just a Motability Scheme ambassador, she is one of our customers too. As a wheelchair basketball player, she has represented Great Britain at the summer Paralympics in 2016 and 2024. Training is a big part of her life, as is it is for her partner and fellow basketball player and Paralympian Laurie Williams and their young daughter. At our recent customer event in Edinburgh, Robyn spoke about how the Motability Scheme supports her family’s busy life, helping her dedicate time to her sport.
Another inspiring customer, para swimmer and SDS board member Laura Pilkington, shared at our Big Event how gaining her own car through the Motability Scheme provided newfound independence. No longer reliant on family for early-morning rides to training, she could pursue her passion for swimming with confidence, knowing help is always a call away if needed. And even when she had an issue one morning, our breakdown cover meant she was able to quickly call for help and get back on her way.
The Motability Scheme is about breaking down barriers to mobility and we’re so excited to be working with SDS to support, encourage and improve participation in sport. SDS aims to deliver inclusion through sport, supporting individuals with disabilities to participate, perform and achieve at all levels.
We know from listening to the experiences of Robyn, Laura, and others among our 84,000 customers in Scotland, that the Motability Scheme helps provide new opportunities for people and is giving them the independence to pursue their passions and their careers.
For us, it is important too that our values perfectly align with those of SDS, namely inclusion, respect, integrity and ambition. We’re both purpose-led organisations that exist to improve the everyday lives of disabled people.
As part of our partnership this year, the Motability Scheme has been the title sponsor of SDS’s national events calendar. Over 2,500 disabled participants across Scotland can access competitive opportunities in sports like athletics, swimming, football, basketball, and boccia.
The Motability Scheme is also supporting SDS’s flagship education and training programmes, facilitating its vital work with primary and secondary teachers in eight local authorities, with a specific provision for educators on vision impairment, and a series of workshops for the SDS branch network, covering every region in Scotland.
Our team is energised by this partnership between the Motability Scheme and Scottish Disability Sport. Together, we will work towards removing barriers that prevent disabled Scots from participating in sports and ensure that sporting opportunities are accessible to all. Whether it’s helping people enjoy sports they already love or encouraging them to discover new passions, we’re here to support the journey.
With the Commonwealth Games right here in Scotland in less than two years, we’ll be busy working alongside the team at SDS to ensure disabled people have the opportunity to participate, perform and achieve at all levels of sport.
To find out more about the Motability Scheme and the company who runs it click here