Memorandum from Ashleah Skinner (BBS 01)
Should the Assessed Eligibility Criteria be changed
and, if so, how?
1. The current Assessed Eligibility Criteria
for a Blue Badge should be changed, in particular to be brought
into line with the central principle of the Disability Discrimination
Act 1995 ("DDA") with regards to mental health conditions
which can be mobility related.
2. The DDA recognises "disability"
as mental impairments; also mental impairments can be mobility
related especially in the cases of anxiety and agoraphobia.
3. The Eligibility subject to further assessment
criterion has a particular interesting description of "is
unable to walk or has very considerable difficulty walking because
of a permanent and substantial disability", it is possible
that agoraphobia may meet this requirement, as the person does
have difficulty walking because of a permanent and substantial
disability, thus they may need someone to accompany them, which
may give rise to entitlement to a Blue Badge.
4. Also the criteria should be updated to
include people who are partially sighted, especially as they have
just as much difficulty as a blind person travelling.
Should the age at which children can qualify for
a badge (either because of a specific medical condition or on
the basis of the Assessed Eligibility Criteria) be changed?
1. According to the Department for Transport
in their guidance to local authorities in England (published 24
January 2008), children under the age of two may be eligible for
a badge if they fall within either or both of the following descriptions:
(a) a child who has a condition that requires
that they be always accompanied by bulky medical equipment which
cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty;
and
(b) a child who has a condition that requires
that they must always be kept near a motor vehicle so that they
can, if necessary, be treated for that condition in the vehicle
or taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where they can be so
treated.
2. This criteria which became effective
on 15 October 2007, should remain unchanged for the moment, as
this would appear to be sufficient to meet the needs of children
under the age of two, in special circumstances, although further
research on this particular issue would be beneficial.
Should people who are severely mentally impaired
or who have extremely disruptive behavioural problems be able
to qualify for a badge under the assessed eligibility criteria?
1. The Blue Badge Scheme should allow people
who are severely mentally impaired or who have extremely disruptive
behavioural problems be able to qualify for a badge under the
assessed eligibility criteria, especially in line with the central
principle of the DDA, and of course, each case should be looked
at individually.
2. It is clear that people with conditions
such as agoraphobia and social phobia find travelling alone difficult
and the risk is sometimes worsened by more serious mental impairments.
3. Each person who has a severe mental impairment
or who have extremely disruptive behavioural problems, which affects
their mobility, as in the case of agoraphobia or autism, should
be given a badge.
4. The diagnosis should be irrelevant, but
the impact the condition has on the person's mobility and ability
to travel should be relevant, not every mental impairment will
affect a person's ability and every person's experience is individual,
so the criteria should be changed to reflect that.
5. Social inclusion, better quality of life,
and independence are all factors which would be likely to help
people who are severely mentally impaired or who have extremely
disruptive behavioural problems, who are awarded a Blue Badge
would be greatly enhanced by being entitled to the parking concessions.
Should the minimum badge issue period be lowered
from the current three years?
1. I believe that the minimum badge issue
period should in actual fact be increased to a minimum of five
years for those who are automatically entitled to the Blue Badge,
and then be renewed for a minimum of two years thereafter.
2. People who are given a pass on a discretionary
basis should continue to be given the badge for a minimum of three
years.
Should local authorities have more discretion
to vary the yellow-line and on-street parking concessions (eg
allowing badge holders to park without charge for more time in
some areas and less in others depending on local traffic conditions
and disabled access)?
1. Yes. Local authorities should have more
discretion to vary the yellow-line and on-street parking concessions,
but they should also have clearer guidelines on how to exercise
their discretion.
Should the London Concession (the regulations
that exempt the four central London boroughs from the national
Blue Badge Scheme) be redrawn so that it is aligned with the London
Congestion Charge Zone (recognising that the zone may alter in
size)?
1. Absolutely. London is frequently changing
and so should the concessions, to reflect this, also by improving
the number of areas where the Blue Badge is allowed, it will also
improve social inclusion of people with the Blue Badge.
Are there any other changes which should be made
to the concessions associated with a Blue Badge?
1. Yes. One of the main and most important
changes would be providing local authorities with better, clear
and more concise guidelines on determining eligibility for a Blue
Badge.
2. Secondly, there should be better and
stronger enforcement on people who abuse the Blue Badge Scheme.
What would be the likely impact of any proposed
changes on the number of people holding badges, the availability
of disabled parking spaces and on local government administration
and cost?
1. The obvious change of the number of people
holding badges is the concern on the availability of parking spaces,
at the moment people who are Blue Badge holders often report the
lack of parking spaces, if the eligibility includes people who
are severely mentally ill or who have extremely disruptive behavioural
problems, then there will need to be more parking spaces available,
this would obviously have a major impact on local government administration
and costs.
2. Nonetheless the lack of costs, should
not be used to prevent the extension of the Blue Badge to people
who are severely mentally impaired or who have extremely disruptive
behavioural problems.
3. Another idea with regards to the costs
could be to people who are awarded a discretionary pass, they
should pay a £20 surcharge, this money could be used to meet
the cost of local government administration and costs.
February 2008
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