The London Concession
38. As a result of concerns about congestion
and security in central London when the Scheme was introduced
in 1971, the City of Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington
and Chelsea, the City of London and part of the Borough of Camden[43]
were allowed to introduce their own schemes—each of the
four Boroughs has its own—for local residents and people
who worked in the area.
39. Holders of a Blue Badge issued by another
local authority enjoy only the following limited concessions in
the central London area:
a) an extra free hour after paying for an on-street
parking bay;
b) 20 minutes' loading or unloading on yellow
lines;
c) if they are parked illegally, vehicles displaying
a badge will not be clamped, nor towed except on the instructions
of the police (and then they will be relocated nearby); and
d) time-limited parking in designated Blue-Badge
bays.
They cannot park in residents' bays or on yellow
lines, nor can they park for free in pay-and-display spaces.
40. Those who live, work or study in one of the
Boroughs may apply for an additional local badge, issued by the
Borough in question and valid in that Borough only (so, for example,
a Westminster White Badge-holder cannot use it in Camden or the
City). The concessions which the local badge allows vary from
one Borough to another, for example:
a) In Camden, a Green Badge-holder can park in
a residents' bay, on a parking meter or in a pay-and-display space
for an unlimited time and free of charge. They may also park for
three hours on a yellow line.
b) In the City, a Red Badge-holder may park for
free in a pay-and-display bay and may wait for 30 minutes on a
single yellow line.
c) In Kensington & Chelsea, a Purple Badge-holder
may park free and with no time restriction in a residents' bay
or a pay-and-display bay, and may load or unload for 20 minutes
on a yellow line.[44]
41. DPTAC concluded in 2002 that the London concession
should be abolished. The DfT commissioned some research on the
basis of this recommendation, but failed to reach a conclusion.
The Government says it is currently "not minded" to
remove the central London concession, but DPTAC told us that their
position was unchanged "in the interests of clarity, consistency
and fairness for the many disabled people who are not able to
use public transport".[45]
Mr Lawson of DPTAC argued that the congestion and security issues
faced by central London were similar to those faced by other major
and historic cities. Mr Campbell of Mobilise suggested that part
of the reason the central London Boroughs were keen to keep the
concession was "to wrongly protect their own residents to
give them priority on parking in the streets".[46]
Mr Smith, who produced the Strategic Review, saw the arguments
as more finely-balanced, but did not favour the continued operation
of four different schemes in one comparatively small area.[47]
The then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, also told us that he
was in favour of abolishing the London concession and bringing
central London into the national Scheme.[48]
42. Of all our witnesses, only Mr Low of TAG
supported the London concession. He stressed the fact that the
local badges were available not only to local residents, but to
anybody who travelled regularly into the area for work or study.
Having two separate Schemes, one local and one national, allowed
London councils to put Blue badge spaces where they would be most
useful to occasional visitors and local badge spaces where local
residents and workers needed them. He argued that there would
be merit in introducing local schemes in areas outside London
where pressure on kerbside space was similar to that in the capital.[49]
43. The situation in central London is complicated,
with four local schemes and one national scheme operating in a
comparatively small area. It is inconsistent with the arrangements
in other congested city centres, where the national scheme applies.
It is also potentially confusing for those from outside the area
who drive in expecting to be able to use their Blue Badge as normal.
It is also unfair on disabled drivers who need to visit the central
zone occasionally but who do not qualify for a local badge because
they neither live nor work there; their mobility needs are no
different from those who live and work in central London and it
is unfair to offer them a more restricted concession.
44. The London concession was no doubt justified
in 1971, but parking, traffic and the nature of the security threat
in central London have changed beyond recognition since then.
The arrangements in London are unfair on those who live outside
central London but drive in occasionally, and particularly on
Badge-holders who live and work in the surrounding boroughs but
who are, uniquely, denied the full range of concessions in the
centre of the city in which they live. It is also confusing for
Badge-holders who are unfamiliar with the London regime. We are
not persuaded that the traffic and parking conditions in central
London are so radically different from those in any other congested
city centre and accordingly we recommend that the Government reconsider
the London concession, with a view to bringing central London
within the remit of the national Scheme.
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