An end to the Blue Badge postcode lottery?

By Jayne Warren - 08/06/2008

For many months Mature Times' readers have been commenting on the use, abuse and availability of Blue Badges. Meanwhile, the Commons Transport Committee admitted today that the award of blue badges had become a "postcode lottery", and that the adherence by local councils to Blue Badge operating guidelines was "patchy". They have therefore called for a review of the eligibility criteria to take in a wider range of people with mobility difficulties.

 

No surprises there, then - and hopefully good news for many older people.

Currently some local authorities simply accept the recommendation from an applicant's GP (but that signature might cost you upwards of £25) - thereby ignoring the requirement for an independent assessment of their mobility.

The Times newspaper reported that Westminster City Council, which employs occupational therapists to check whether applicants need a blue badge, rejected about half of all applications - citing their adherence to a "zero tolerance approach" to blue badge misuse because of its central London location.

 

The Commons Committee chairman Louise Ellman said: "The parking needs of people with disabilities must not be decided by what is effectively a postcode lottery. There must be greater consistency in the way in which the eligibility criteria for blue badges are applied across the country.

"This is a fundamental matter of fairness: a person's entitlement to a blue badge should not depend on where he or she lives."

 

It has also called for new powers to tackle motorists who use blue badges fraudulently, and a vigorous publicity campaign to shame able-bodied drivers out of using disabled parking bays. Car park operators, including supermarkets, will be held to account if they failed to address the misuse of disabled parking spaces.

Amy Swan, Policy Officer at Help the Aged commented: "This report contains important recommendations.  Without access to the Blue Badge scheme, many older people would be at greater risk of isolation and loneliness which, in any event, is a growing problem in the UK. 

 

"The National Travel Survey has found that 45% of older people over 70 have difficulty walking and using buses due to their limited mobility. Many of those people will be dependent on the Blue Badge scheme in order to get out and about.

 

"Help the Aged also remains concerned that people who become disabled after the age of 65 are not entitled to Disability Living Allowance and are only able to apply for Attendance Allowance - which does not include a  mobility top-up component.  This means that those older people are not automatically entitled to a Blue Badge and are instead forced to rely on the discretion of the issuer. This is yet another example of the blatant age discrimination which pervades far too much of older people's lives."

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