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Benefit bosses who axed a multiple sclerosis sufferer's Motability car to save £8,000 over three years offered to pay out £65,000 on taxi fares instead.

Jan Davis, who suffers excruciating pain, had been receiving the Personal Independence Payment, a non-means tested benefit, and used this money to lease a Motability car.

But the DWP last month informed the 58-year-old she would no longer qualify for the disability allowance after a snap reassessment of her benefits ruled she did not need the car to live independently.

Officers of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ruled that she did qualify for help in getting to work as an admin officer for HM Revenue & Customs.

Yet they agreed to pay for a taxi to take Jan, from Ayr, to and from her job in East Kilbride, 33 miles away. That’s eight journeys a week, at £60 each.

(Image: © Jamie Williamson 2016) (Image: © Jamie Williamson 2016)

The move, which would cost the taxpayer an extra £19,000 a year, was branded "shambolic" by her local MP.

Jan turned to the DWP's Access to Work scheme after taking advice from her MP.

To her surprise, she was informed the DWP would pay for her to take a taxi to and from work - despite a cost of almost £65,000 over three years, compared with the £8,000 cost of leasing a car over that period.

Jan blasted the DWP's approach, saying: "It's crazy - it would have cost them less than £6000 for me to keep the car and yet they are willing to pay up to £65,000 for taxis.

"If you are a disabled person living on benefits, your needs are ignored.

"I'm doing my best to continue working but I feel as though this Government just does not care."

(Image: © Jamie Williamson 2016)

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Jan said her condition has a huge effect on her life, but she has battled to overcome it and continue working at the tax office in East Kilbride.

"I don't sleep at night and suffer quite a lot of pain in my legs," said Jan, who lives with her husband Graeme.

"I can't walk very far before it is very, very painful."

And she was far from happy with the outcome after being told her appeal against the PIP decision could take 10 weeks.

Instead, she forked out almost £6,000 of her own money to buy the Peugeot car outright.

Jan will now use the vehicle to commute to work - but the investment has left a black hole in her finances as she approaches retirement.

"I think it is absolutely awful the way that the DWP has behaved," said Jan.

"I am claiming benefits but I prefer to work.

"I think it is this Government's intention to just cut benefits for disabled people and push them into frustration and despair.

"Most employers can't afford to take on a disabled person because they wonder if the person's condition means they can't be there on time or if they can do all of the work - and the DWP is not helping disabled people change that perception.

"I feel as if I was forced into buying the car, it took so long to get an agreement out of them."

Corri Wilson, the SNP 's disability spokeswoman, said Jan had been "denied the ability to live an independent life" as she accused the UK Government of treating disabled people with contempt.

(Image: © Jamie Williamson 2016)

Ms Wilson, who is Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock MP, said: "The distress and disruption that Mrs Davis has suffered as a result of this appalling decision is utterly disgraceful.

"Her case shines a light on the shambolic approach of the UK Government towards social security and its contempt for people with disabilities.

"Not only has Mrs Davis been denied the ability to live an independent life, but the taxpayer is being short-changed more than £19,000 each year, in just this single case, for no apparent reason.

"There is no logic to this decision and it raises serious questions about the UK Government's judgement.

"The Tories talk endlessly about the need to get disabled people into work, but here we see that this is all bluster.

"Instead, they continue blindly slashing crucial support for disabled people without any regard for the impact on peoples' lives.

"Mrs Davis's case is the result of these cuts - when even an employee of HMRC is forced to consider resignation, it must be clear to the Tories that their policies are not fit for purpose."

(Image: © Jamie Williamson 2016)

A DWP spokesman said: "PIP is a benefit designed to help with the additional daily living costs someone may face due to their disability, while Access to Work is a grant to help disabled people with the adjustments they may need to get into or stay in work.

"They are different benefits with different functions, and therefore have different assessment criteria.

"Anyone who is unhappy with their PIP decision can appeal and most people leaving the Motability scheme are eligible for a one-off payment of £2,000 to help meet their needs."