DEPARTMENT FOR
TRANSPORT News Release (008) issued by The Government News Network
on 24 January 2008
Proposals to
increase the reach of the Disabled Parking (Blue Badge) scheme to
more people who need it and make it easier to take action against
those who steal, forge or fraudulently use a Blue Badge have today
been put out for consultation by Transport Minister Rosie Winterton.
The consultation contains proposals to ensure that parking close
to essential amenities and services continues to be available to
those that need it most.
The last review of the Blue Badge Scheme took place almost a
decade ago and this consultation offers the opportunity to make
sure the Blue Badge Scheme is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Rosie Winterton said:
"The Blue Badge Scheme was designed to increase the mobility
and independence of disabled people and today I am proposing that
we extend its reach to help more people, including a greater
number of parents who have to transport bulky medical equipment
with their children and people with severe autism.
"The Government is also determined to take action against
those who forge, steal or fraudulently use a Badge. That is why I
want to hear people's views about ways of making the Badge
more secure and better ways of taking immediate action against
Blue Badge cheats who steal, forge or use a Badge they are not
entitled to.
"All councils should operate high standard Blue Badge
schemes. That is why I have launched a £500,000 fund, along with
new guidance, to highlight good practice and help councils learn
important lessons from one another." The proposals include:
* Extending the reach of the scheme, for example, ensuring more
parents of severely disabled children are eligible for a Badge;
* Giving parking attendants the power to confiscate on the spot
Blue Badges that have been stolen, forged or are being
fraudulently used;
* Improving the security of the badge design to prevent forgeries;
* Creating a system of national data sharing, to identify blue
badge cheats;
The consultation also asks if individual local authorities should
be given the opportunity to run the Scheme in a way that responds
to local circumstances.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Disabled Person's Parking Badge Scheme ("the
Blue Badge Scheme") was introduced in 1971 to provide a
national arrangement of on-street parking concessions for disabled
people, allowing them to access goods and services more easily.
Consultation
2. The Department for Transport announced a series of proposed
changes to the Blue Badge Scheme, as well as a strategic review of
the scheme, on 26 February 2007. Today's consultation builds
on this earlier work.
3. The final date for responses to be received by the Department
for Transport is 17 April 2008. The full consultation document is
available on http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/open/bluebadgereformstrategy/
4. The Department has set up stakeholder working groups to run in
parallel with the consultation. The groups will include key people
from disability organisations, with whom the Dept will work
closely on developing proposals.
Review
5. In May 2007 an independent consultant, Rob Smith, was
commissioned to conduct a review of the Blue Badge Scheme. He did
this through a mixture of desk based research and stakeholder interviews.
6. The final report has been published today and is available on
the http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/bluebadge/bluebadgeresearch/bluebadgefinaleligibility.pdf
and addresses the following issues:
I. Eligibility (who should qualify for the Scheme?)
II. Concessions (which concessions should apply?)
III. Better administration (how can the Scheme be more
consistently administered and enforced?) and;
IV. Choice & alternatives to the Scheme
7. The report was independently commissioned and does not
necessarily reflect government policy. The findings have been
considered as part of the preliminary formulation of the
comprehensive Blue Badge reform strategy.
8. The Department's http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/bluebadge/bluebadgereform/DfTresponsetostrategicreview.pdf
to the review reflects our preliminary thinking and is designed to
help us to modernise the Scheme in the within the context of
current transport policy; making it more consistently
administered, tougher on fraud and easier to understand.
Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport
Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk