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MAY 2011 - Supermarkets support Government crackdown on Blue Badge abuse
Following major
reforms to the Blue Badge scheme announced earlier this year,
seven major supermarket chains have now given their support for
the Government’s drive to eradicate Blue Badge abuse.
Responding to the concerns of disability groups, Local Transport
Minister Norman Baker wrote to all major supermarkets urging them
to do what they could to enforce the scheme on their premises. So
far Aldi, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco,
Waitrose and Lidl have all responded positively in support of the
Government’s drive to ensure strict enforcement of the parking
bays in their car parks which are privately owned.
Norman Baker said:
"Many disabled people and disability groups have told me
about the problems they have in finding a disabled bay at
supermarkets because of their abuse by people who have no
justification for parking in reserved spaces.
"I am delighted to have secured the support of the major
supermarket groups and to know that they share my view that abuse
of Blue Badge parking bays needs to be tackled, protecting
customers who rely on such spaces. I hope other large retailers
will now follow suit and consider what action they can take to
help their Blue Badge customers."
The badges provide a vital lifeline to over 2.5 million disabled
people every year by prioritising key parking spaces close to
important services. However, rising levels of badge fraud have
prevented those who genuinely need to use the parking spaces from
doing so.
The seven supermarkets have said that drivers found abusing
designated disabled bays will be issued with parking charge
notices in some circumstances, alongside other measures including
car park patrols, leafleting of vehicles and requests over
in-store tannoys.
The major reforms to the Blue Badge scheme announced by Norman
Baker earlier this year include a new badge design that is harder
to forge, as well as improved enforcement powers for local
authorities. However, the scheme does not cover privately owned
car parks. The support of supermarkets is therefore an important
step in ensuring wider enforcement of the scheme.
Following a competitive procurement exercise, Northgate Public
Services and Payne Security have been awarded a contract to help
make improvements to the Blue Badge scheme, which will include:
* Shared administration between authorities including an online
eligibility checker and an online application form available via
Directgov, resulting in faster renewals, reduced abuse and
operational savings;
* a secure central database of all Blue Badges on issue and key
information on badge holders that will enable fraud prevention and
better enforcement;
* secure printing, personalisation and distribution of the new
Blue Badge design provided by Northgate’s partner, Payne Security.
A Lidl Spokesperson said:
"At Lidl, we are fully committed to assisting the
Department for Transport's successful implementation and
modernisation of the Blue Badge scheme. We will continue our
ongoing, effective monitoring of our car parks and enforcement
methods to prevent abuse of the disabled parking bays at our stores."
Gwyn Burr, Sainsbury's Customer Service and Colleague
Director, said:
"We know the Blue Badge scheme is an issue close to our
customers’ hearts. In 2009 we became the first supermarket to
actively manage all of the disabled bays within our car parks and
this led to a reduction in the misuse of these spaces, a fact
recognised by the Baywatch survey last year. We are very pleased
to support this campaign."
Mark Gunter, Group Retail Director of Morrisons, said:
"We have always been concerned about the abuse of
disabled parking spaces and we will penalise those able-bodied
drivers that incorrectly park in spaces allocated for blue-badge
drivers. However, we also depend on the public to help us ensure
that these parking bays remain available for disabled drivers."
The new service delivery improvements to the Blue Badge scheme
will be operational from 1st January 2012.
The capital costs involved in the development of the system will
be funded by Northgate and Payne Security, who will re-coup their
investment over the lifetime of the five-year contract via a
charge to local authorities per badge issued.
Dave Meaden, Chief Executive of Northgate Public Services said:
"The Blue Badge scheme is an essential service for
disabled people. We are committed to making it more effective for
the millions who rely on it. This innovative programme is focused
on enhancing vital local services through preventing abuse,
improving delivery and planning for increased demand in the
future. In difficult times, it shows that improvements for people
really can be achieved through new ways of working and using resources."
Notes to Editors 1. There are 2.55 million badge holders
in England and demand is rising significantly in line with the
average age of the population. Current levels of abuse are high as
the financial benefits of having a badge are significant.
Consultations with disabled people, local authorities and other
stakeholders have demonstrated a large amount of support for
changes to be made to ensure the long term sustainability of the
scheme for those who rely on it the most. This includes reforms
that will help to ensure a fair allocation of badges, deliver
efficiency savings and improve customer services and to tackle and
reduce current levels of abuse.
2. The Blue Badge scheme only applies to on-street parking.
Private off-street car parks, such as those at supermarkets, are
on private land and the charges and conditions of use are
essentially a contractual matter between the owner and the
motorist. However, the Equality Act 2010 requires providers of
services, including car park operators, to take reasonable steps
to ensure disabled people are not substantially disadvantaged
compared to non-disabled people, when accessing their services.
This has implications for car park operators who may have to
demonstrate that, as well as marking out disabled
person's parking spaces, they have taken reasonable steps
to ensure that they are available to disabled people.
3. Amongst the services available from the Blue Badge Improvement
Service will be an on-line eligibility checker and an application
form. This will enable people to quickly discover whether or not
they may be eligible for a Blue Badge and, if they are, to then
complete an on-line application form that will be sent through the
system to the relevant issuing local authority. The local
authority will make, as now, the decision on whether or not the
individual should receive a badge.
4. Full details of the reforms announced in February can be found
here: http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/bluebadge/reform/
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