Safe Speed Forums

1. Eligibility
We want to make sure that the Blue Badge Scheme (the Scheme) is available to those who need it most and that it is as fair and consistently administered as possible.

1.1. There are currently two main eligibility categories for the Scheme. The first (the assessed eligibility criterion) is predominantly linked to a severe and permanent inability to walk for a period of at least three years. The second is predominantly linked to the receipt of the Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA). People, who are awarded the badge through the main assessed eligibility criteria, cannot qualify for a badge if they have a severe mental impairment or a disability that lasts for less than three years; however some people on HMRCDLA do qualify for a badge on these grounds. To promote greater consistency and fairness, we are looking at options for bringing the assessed eligibility criteria into greater alignment with that of the HRMCDLA. This may include:

ensuring that the assessed eligibility and HRMCDLA assessment processes are applied with equal rigour and consistency;
revising the assessed eligibility criteria to enable people with the most severe mental impairments / extremely disruptive behavioural problems to access the Scheme;
adjusting the badge issue period, so that specific individuals with the most severe mobility problems may still be able to qualify for a badge in certain circumstances if the disability lasts for less than 3 years;
adjusting the eligibility criteria so that there are two main eligibility groups, one for people under the age of 3 and another for those aged 3 and over (rather than under and over 2 as currently).
Any change in this direction would need to be subject to a rigorous impact assessment, stakeholder engagement and improved local authority assessment processes.

1.2. We also think that there are other Government initiatives that could better meet the mobility needs of people who do not qualify for a badge (for example local taxi vouchers). We will work with stakeholders to explore 'Non-Blue Badge' options for people who do not qualify for the Scheme (e.g. people with Crohn's Disease and Colitis), providing that this does not create undue burdens on local government. This will form part of DfT’s wider agenda for improving the personal mobility of older and disabled people.

2. Concessions
We wish to engage with stakeholders about what entitlements and concessions should be available to badge holders in the future to ensure that the Scheme continues to help support people with severe mobility issues whilst balancing the needs of the economy, environment and wider society.

2.1. We will continue to retain the existing yellow line parking concession (which is one of the most generous in Europe) in the short to medium term, whilst we review its long term purpose in terms of accessibility and its impact upon congestion.

2.2. In line with the findings of the Eddington Transport Study and the new strategy 'Towards a Sustainable Transport System', Local authorities will need to consider the likely impact (in terms of overall costs and benefits) of providing road pricing concessions to Blue Badge holders.

2.3. We want to find the right balance between providing free accessible parking and responding to local traffic management needs. More specifically, we recognise that central London has its own specific congestion, security and parking issues. For this reason, we are not minded to remove the Central London Concession (which exempts the four central London local authorities from the Scheme) at this point in time. However, we want to support the relevant authorities to simplify the rules for visiting badge holders. We will also investigate the feasibility and desirability of enabling other local authorities to adapt their schemes to meet local circumstances and needs.

2.4. Market research conducted as part of the strategic review suggests that the off-street parking concessions provided on a discretionary basis by local authorities and other organisations are highly valued and well used by badge holders. We want to work with local authorities, the parking, retail and service sectors to investigate how off-street parking concessions should best sit alongside their on-street counterparts.

3. Better administration
We want to ensure that local authorities have the tools and powers they need to administer and enforce the Scheme effectively so that a high level of service is provided to badge holders.


3.1. We will actively promote good practice to enable local authorities to administer and enforce the scheme more consistently, whilst still allowing for a degree of local flexibility. Centrally we will also review existing powers available to local authorities for dealing with abuse and work with local authorities to identify effective means of funding enforcement activities.

3.2. We recognise the potential of new technologies in improving enforcement and administration. We would like to work with local authorities to support the development of new technological solutions, which subject to favourable cost benefit analysis (and the need for any new legislative powers) could potentially combine:

- A secure and machine readable badge
- A national framework for securely sharing Blue Badge data between issuing authorities and with on-street parking enforcement teams; and
- A data storage approach that supports efficient, secure and streamlined administration.

This does not necessarily mean the creation of a standalone national database for Blue Badge holders as other options are available for creating a national framework for sharing data (e.g. the use of ‘hot lists’ to share information on lost or stolen badges between local authorities).

Any move towards national data sharing would be subject to robust privacy and security safeguards being in place to ensure that badge holder details were kept secure and any such proposals may require legislation. We will be seeking views on this issue as part of the reform process

3.3. The current maximum fee of £2 (as introduced in March 1983 and not linked to inflation) is no longer economically cost effective. We will consult on whether local authorities should be given the discretion to raise the fee to a level, which would more properly cover the local costs it was created to cover.

3.4. We are looking at a range of publicity options to increase public understanding of the Scheme and to help prevent abuse. This is likely to involve a mixture of national and local publicity in order to help prevent abuse of the Scheme and loss of local parking revenue.

4. Alternatives to the Blue Badge Scheme
We are reforming the Blue Badge Scheme as part of a wider programme of work to improve the mobility of older and disabled people. This includes making public transport more accessible so that people with disabilities have real alternatives to using the car.

4.1. The Blue Badge Scheme is only one of the options available for meeting the transport needs of people with restricted mobility. We remain committed to making other forms of transport more accessible so that disabled people have real alternatives to using the car. We have already made significant progress in this area through changes in legislation and substantial investment to make transport and associated infrastructure physically accessible and affordable to disabled people, for example the Access for All initiative which provides funding for making physical enhancements to train stations and the national bus concessionary fares scheme. We will continue to take this work forward through a combination of legislation and operational delivery initiatives.

The law exists to penalise bad parking/obstruction already. It just needs implementing.