1 Introduction
The Strategic Review and Consultation
1. In February 2007, the Department for Transport
(DfT) announced a strategic review of the Blue Badge Scheme. The
Scheme, first introduced as the Orange Badge Scheme in 1971,[1]
provides parking concessions for disabled people which allow them
to park free of charge in certain locations, to park in designated
disabled parking bays in some car parks, and to park for a limited
time in certain places where parking restrictions are in force.[2]
Badge-holders are also exempt from various road-user charges.[3]
The Badge-holder need not be the driver or keeper of the vehicle
in which the Badge is used, but the Badge may only be used in
a vehicle in which the Badge-holder is travelling.
2. The Department commissioned an independent
consultant, Rob Smith CB, to conduct a Strategic Review of the
Scheme.[4] The Review examined
the Scheme's eligibility criteria, concessions, administration
and enforcement in light of the many social, political, environmental
and technological changes that have occurred since it was first
introduced 36 years ago. The Government's response to the Review
was published in January 2008, in the form of a consultation paper.[5]
The public consultation closed on 17 April, but the Minister of
State has kindly agreed to defer publication of the Government's
response in order to take account of our recommendations.[6]
We are most grateful to her.
3. The consultation addresses four broad areas:
a) Eligibility: making sure that the Scheme is
available to those who need it most and that it is as fair and
consistently administered as possible.
b) Concessions: 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 while balancing the needs of the economy, environment and
wider society?
c) Administration and enforcement: ensuring that
local authorities have the tools and powers they need to administer
and enforce the Scheme effectively.
d) Choice and alternatives to the Scheme: the
Scheme is part of a wider programme of work to improve the mobility
of older and disabled people, including making public transport
more accessible. [7]
Increase in the number of Badges
4. The Table below shows how the number of Blue
Badges in circulation has grown in the last 20 years, and is projected
to grow further in the years to come.Table
1: Number of Disabled Parking Badges in circulation
| Year |
Number of badges
| Badges per 1,000 people
|
| 1987 | 673,000
| 14 |
| 1997 | 1,640,000
| 34 |
| 2007 | 2,300,000
| 46 |
| 2012 | (projected on current trends) >3,000,000
| — |
Source: Strategic Review, paragraph 2 and Parking
Badges for Disabled People: supplementary document (DfT, December
2004 & November 2007)
5. The growth in the number of badges, more than
240% over 20 years, is out of all proportion to the growth in
the overall population and to the general growth in car ownership
and use. Witnesses suggested a variety of factors that might have
contributed to this, including the ageing population—and
the increasing number of elderly people who are able to get about
without help—and increased expectations, aspirations and
mobility on the part of disabled people.[8]
Another reason is amendments to the eligibility criteria. Mr Grahame
Lawson of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC)
argued that "political expediency" was one of the driving
forces behind the growth: "National government has found
it expedient in some cases to extend the criteria and local government
has found it expedient to meet the needs of their constituents".[9]
6. Several witnesses gave estimates of the financial
value of a Blue Badge. Mr Lawson of DPTAC told us that Edinburgh
City Council had estimated the annual value of a Badge in the
city at between £2,000 and £5,000.[10]
Mr Low of TAG said that the Congestion Charge exemption was worth
an additional £2,000 in London. He went on to argue that
the high monetary value of a Badge might be one factor which encouraged
people to apply for one who might not otherwise have done so.[11]
7. The growth in the number of Badges is welcome
insofar as it reflects greater mobility among groups of people
who were formerly less active. However, one consequence of the
growth in the number of badges is increased competition for spaces,
particularly for designated spaces in off-street car parks (for
example, at shops, railway stations and leisure centres) where
the Blue Badge Scheme does not apply. There is a possibility that
further extending the criteria for eligibility for a Badge could
devalue the currency and reduce the usefulness of the Badge to
those who need it most.
8. The mobility expectations of elderly and disabled
people have changed markedly since 1971, as have the mobility
and travel patterns of society as a whole. In 1971, less than
half of all households had access to a car. It is now more than
three-quarters. The number of households with two or more cars
has quadrupled in the same period. Even for somebody with no mobility
difficulties, gaining access to shops, public services and other
amenities has become more difficult without a car. People are
driving more, and walking less, for journeys of all kinds.[12]
Changes in leisure, shopping and travel-to-work patterns mean
there is, in many places, growing pressure on parking space and
highway authorities are making greater efforts to control parking.
9. We welcome the Government's review of the
Blue Badge Scheme. If the Scheme is to continue to contribute
effectively to meeting the transport needs of those with the most
serious mobility difficulties, it must be able to adapt to external
changes in transport and parking patters. Previous reviews of
the Scheme have produced inconclusive research and minor but helpful
changes. The Government must now act decisively to shape a disabled
parking scheme that will serve the needs of modern users.
1 Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (c.
44), s. 21 (Badges for display on motor vehicles used by disabled
persons). The section came into force on 1 December 1971. Back
2
The concessions are described more fully at paragraph32, below. Back
3
Including the London Congestion Charge, the Severn Bridge Toll
and the Durham Road User Charge. Back
4
The Strategic Review of the Blue Badge Scheme: An independent
review by Rob Smith (Department for Transport, September 2007).
Hereafter, "the Strategic Review". The Strategic Review
and its Annexes contain a comprehensive and accessible description
of the Scheme. It is available on line at: www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/bluebadge/bluebadgereform/bbsreview
Back
5
Consultation of Developing a Comprehensive Blue Badge (Disabled
Parking) Reform Strategy (Department for Transport, 2008).
Hereafter, "the Consultation Paper". Back
6
Q 100. Back
7
Set out in Annex A to the Consultation Paper. Back
8
See, for example, QQ 4 & 5 [Mr Douglas Campbell of Mobilise
and Mr Rob Smith]. Back
9
Q 3. DPTAC is appointed under the Transport Act 1985 to advise
the Government on the transport needs of disabled people. Back
10
Q 26. Back
11
The DfT provided us with evidence that the introduction of the
Congestion Charge had led to an increase in applications for badges,
and in the number of badges issued, in the inner London boroughs.
See Ev 47. Back
12
Figures in this paragraph are taken from Social Trends 37
(Office for National Statistics, 2007). Back
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