Summary of responses to the consultation paper on changes to the Blue Badge Scheme

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Consultation dates

27 March 2007 to 19 June 2007.

Issue

The consultation proposed changes to the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles)(England) Regulations 2000. 

The proposed changes to the 2000 Regulations included:

  • extending the Blue Badge Scheme to cover certain children under two years of age who, due to specific medical condition, need to travel with bulky medical equipment or be close to a vehicle for emergency treatment;
  • to amend the eligibility criterion for people with a severe disability in both arms;
  • to re-define the issue period for a badge;
  • to make modifications to the design of the badge, including the addition of a hologram as a security device; and
  • to remove eligibility relating to people supplied with a vehicle at public expense, a scheme which is long defunct. 

The consultation package issued on 27 March comprised of a response pro-forma containing specific questions; draft regulations; draft guidance for Local Authorities; a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) and a list of those being consulted.

A copy of the specific questions contained in the response pro-forma are found on: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/closed/bluebadgescheme/returnforma

Accessible formats

Large print, Braille, audio and easy read.

Responses received

168 consultation responses were received, 57% were from local authorities, 15% from individuals, 15% from disability charities and a further 13% from ‘other’ groups, such as the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC), the police and NHS.

Summary of responses

Draft regulations

Overall there was strong support for the changes proposed. Support was especially strong for extending the scheme to children under the age of two who, due to a specific medical condition, need to travel with bulky medical equipment or be close to a vehicle for emergency treatment.  There was some concern expressed about how children over two, with the same medical condition, would apply for a badge.  However, these children would be assessed under the standard eligibility criteria for people over two.  Changes to the standard eligibility criteria are also being considered as part of the strategic review of the Scheme, which is due to report to Ministers in September 2007.

Several respondents also requested the removal of the words “suffering from” within the regulations when referring to children under two and asked for it to be substituted with “has a” as many disabled people do not like to be described as “suffering” from a condition.  It was agreed that the regulations should be re-drafted, removing the word “suffering”.

A number of respondents pointed out that it was not clear from the draft regulations that the list of bulky medical equipment, for children under two, was not exhaustive and wanted this to be made clearer. As the wording within the regulations is standard legal text, it was decided that the regulations should remain as drafted, but that this point should be stressed clearly in the accompanying guidance issued to local authorities.

There was very strong support, especially from disability groups and members of the public (majority of local authorities also in favour), that equipment (such as hip spica casts) for the treatment of hip dysplasia should be added to the list of bulky medical equipment for the under twos.  The main argument given was that because of the size of these casts more space was needed to allow car doors to open fully to manoeuvre these children in and out of the car. The only strong opposition to this came from DPTAC who pointed out that this would only be a problem at off-street car parks and not at designated kerbside on-street parking spaces.  DPTAC also felt that, as the timescale for a child wearing the cast would not normally last more than six to eight months, the condition would not be considered to be permanent.  After due consideration, it was decided that there was a case for including equipment used for the treatment of hip dysplasia within the regulations. 

It was also suggested that tumble-form chairs and walking/standing frames for children with ‘serious variable muscle tone’, should be added to the list. Following advice from the Department for Health, it was agreed that the equipment required “wouldn't strictly be significantly "bulky"” to come comfortably within our definition. However, as the list given in the regulations is not exhaustive, this would not exclude this type of equipment if some were found to be particularly bulky.

On the period of issue for badges, the majority of respondents agreed, particularly local authorities and disability groups, that it should be linked to the period of issue of the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance (HRMCDLA) [1] , if this was less than three years. 

The majority of respondents supported changing the eligibility criteria for those with upper limb disabilities to “drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe congenital disability in both arms and is unable to operate, or has considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking metre”.  However, a number of key disability groups felt that using the word “congenital” was discriminatory, as it did not cover people who had acquired the same degree of disability due to trauma and disease. Their suggestion was that the definition should be broadened to cover “severe congenital, trauma or disease induced disabilities in both arms”.  It was decided that the word “congenital” should be removed from the regulations, leaving the reference as “severe disability in both arms”.  The definition of “severe disability” will be explained fully in the guidance issued to local authorities.

There was strong support for the changes proposed to the design of the badge, particularly the introduction of a hologram.  Respondents also made a number of suggestions on how to improve the design of the badge to aid enforcement and combat fraud.  As a result of these suggestions a number of additional changes have been made to the badge design, including the insertion of gender specific serial numbers on both sides of the badge (which will role out existing good practice and help to tackle abuse).

Draft local authority guidance

There was a degree of dissatisfaction with the draft Local Authority guidance.  However, many respondents have provided detailed comments which will be taken on board when revising the guidance.

Draft Regulatory Impact Assessment

Many respondents did not feel qualified to comment. However, one issue raised by local authorities was the cost of replacing the old style badges. This is being addressed through the provision of a small contingency fund to assist any local authority that is concerned that they have a very large volume of surplus stock.

Summary of Outcomes

Regulations

After careful consideration of all the comments received and following agreement with the Minister, the original proposed regulations were amended further, mainly to:

  • include casts and associated medical equipment for the correction of hip dysplasia, to the list of bulky medical equipment for children under two;
  • remove the words “suffering from” when referring to children under two;
  • remove the word “congenital” from the upper limb criterion (“severe congenital disability"), as it was considered discriminatory, since it did not cover people who had acquired the same degree of disability due to trauma or disease.  The definition of “severe disability” will be explained fully in the guidance issued to local authorities;
  • make additional changes to the badge design, including the introduction of a serial number on both sides of the badge, which contain male and female markers to aid parking enforcement.

Local authority guidance

The guidance is currently being re-drafted to take into account all concerns raised by respondents.  In addition, the guidance will be written in plain English to make it more user friendly and will include practical good practice case studies.  The guidance will be issued later this year (2007), together with a revised explanatory booklet for blue badge holders.

In the meantime, the Department has issued a Circular to all local authorities explaining the changes being brought in by the new regulations.  Copies of the circular can be downloaded from our website at:

http://www.dft.gov.uk/access/localauthorityguidance

Additional copies can also be ordered direct from TSO:

By email: bluebadges@tso.co.uk
By telephone: 0870 600 5522 (select Option 1, then select Option 2)

Regulatory Impact Assessment

This has been amended to include reference to a reserve fund available for recalling and destroying current badges held at the suppliers and local authorities.

Next steps

The new regulations will come into force on 15 October 2007 and can be viewed on the Office of Public Sector Information website at www.opsi.gov.uk.

An independent strategic review of the scheme is also currently taking place and is due to report to Ministers in September 2007.  This strategic review will contribute to the formulation of a Blue Badge Reform strategy by April 2008. The strategic review will address issues such as the application fee, the issue of temporary badges, research into the mobility requirements of other groups of disabled people, and other issues, including how to exploit new technologies to tackle fraud more effectively.

Useful links

[1] This will also include people awarded the War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS).