Memorandum from Citizens Advice (BBS 05)
Citizens Advice is the national body for Citizens
Advice Bureaux (CABx) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The CAB service is the largest independent network of free advice
centres in Europe, with 430 main bureaux in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. Bureaux provide advice from over 3,300 outlets,
including bureaux in the high street, community centres, health
settings, courts and prisons. All CABx are registered charities.
The CAB service has twin aims: to ensure that
individuals do not suffer through a lack of information about
their rights; and equally to exercise a responsible influence
on the development of policies and practices, both at a local
and national level.
In 2006/07 Citizens Advice in England &
Wales helped 2 million people to solve 5.7 million new problems.
Of these problems, 4,366 related to blue badges and parking charge
exemptions.
SUMMARY
— There is a case for parking charges
for Blue Badge holders to be waived or reduced given that they
may have no choice but to travel by car due to their impairment
or due to inadequate public transport.
— There is a case for broadening the
eligibility criteria for receiving a Blue Badge in particular
to address the problems facing those aged 65 or over.
— Consideration should be given to
the introduction of a system if temporary badges similar to that
in Scotland in which people can apply for a Blue Badge if their
condition is temporary (at least 12 months) but substantial.
— Blue Badge holders and parking officials
need better and clearer information about what the Blue Badge
entitles people to and what it does not. It is also apparent from
our evidence that it would be helpful to Blue Badge holders if
there was greater consistency between local authorities in terms
of parking controls and fines.
1.1 Fines, confiscation and clamping for badge
holders
Many Blue Badge holders seem to be unaware of
the fact that the Blue Badge does not allow them to park free
of charge or in private car parks or roads. This has led to people
with a disability experiencing fines and in some cases their cars
being clamped. The rules and guidelines around this need to be
reviewed and clarified, both for officials and Badge holders:
Biddulph CAB's client had had his Blue Badge
confiscated by the police for misuse. The man explained that his
son had dropped him in town for shopping and then gone to park
the car. His son was stopped by the police after parking the car.
The badge was confiscated for evidential purposes. The man tried
to get another badge but was declined on grounds that his case
had not yet been settled.
Bureaux have seen clients who have been fined
for parking in private roads or car parks. While this is legal,
it is unfair if there is insufficient disabled parking nearby:
A client of Broxbourne CAB received a parking
fine of £50 for parking in a private road near a post office.
She thought that she was allowed to park there as she was a Blue
Badge holder. Although the company that issued the fine claimed
that blue badge holders would be treated "beneficially"
if an explanation was submitted, there is no evidence of this.
Another client with a Blue Badge seen by the bureau—an elderly
gentleman of 83—received a fine from the same company for
parking in the same road.
Reading CAB's client, a Blue Badge holder, had
been issued a fine for parking in a residents parking bay. She
was dropping off documents to the DVLA offices and their car park
was too full for her to get anywhere close. The fine added to
her debt problems and contributed to subsequent issues by bailiffs.
North Wiltshire CAB saw an 81-year-old woman—a
Blue Badge holder—who had severe arthritis including spinal
arthritis which caused great pain on walking. She had her vehicle
clamped in a private car park and had to pay £125 to get
it released. Although the action was within the law, it was extremely
uncompassionate and led to great distress for the client, who
was unaware that she required a ticket. If she had not been able
to pay the fine on the spot, she would have had to endure great
pain in walking to alternative transport.
A 71-year old client of Wandsworth CAB received
a penalty charge when his blue badge slipped down inside the car
while he was taking his seriously ill neighbour to hospital. He
appealed but was refused and had to pay £120 within 14 days.
He was unable to do this as he was on Pension Credit—he
was very stressed and worried.
Craven CAB saw an 87-year-old man with a Blue
Badge who walked with a stick. He needed to get to the bank but
their car park was closed so he parked in a private car park,
thinking that with his badge he would be OK for five minutes.
He was ticketed for £60. On the same day he wrote a letter
of appeal, saying he did not have the money to pay—he was
living on income support, full housing benefit and full council
tax benefit. He heard nothing more until a letter six weeks later
demanding £183. He was very distressed as the fine added
to his debts, yet the bureau could do little to help due to lack
of regulation of private car park operators.
Carrick CAB saw a woman who was severely disabled
with rheumatoid arthritis who had a Blue Badge. She had been attending
a Day Centre for several months because of her anxiety and depression.
On the instruction of the Day Centre's manager she had always
parked around the back of the centre. However one day she found
her car clamped. She had no money but the Day Centre staff paid
the £70.50 to release the car.
1.2 Possible concessions for Blue Badge holders
There is a case for parking fees for those with
a Blue Badge to be reduced or waived. They have less choice in
where they park than able bodied people and are often not aware
anyway that their Blue Badge does not give them free parking:
Petersfield CAB saw a man who felt he was being
discriminated against by new parking charges. As a Blue Badge
holder, he had, for years, been able to park for free in one of
four disabled bays in a seaside spot near to his home. A charge
of £20 a day had recently been introduced, and it was only
possible to park for one hour, or the whole day. The man highly
valued his trips to the seaside as it was one of the few activities
accessible to him. He felt discriminated against because he would,
as a disabled person, need to park for longer than an able bodied
person. He also does not have the choice of parking further away
from the seaside in a free car park (should one be available).
Dudley CAB saw a 76-year-old woman with a blue
badge who had spent over £100 on hospital parking charges
in the last four months. There is currently no concession for
those having to attend the hospital for regular treatment.
2. RESTRICTIVE
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Currently there is only an automatic right to
a Blue Badge if a person is in receipt of Higher Rate Disability
Living Allowance (DLA). Attendance Allowance, which applies for
those aged 65 or over does not currently create an entitlement
to a Blue Badge. Those receiving Attendance Allowance will often
have comparable impairments to those receiving Higher Rate DLA
and will require almost constant attendance and assistance. Citizens
Advice Bureaux (CABs) have seen clients who are clearly in need
of a Blue Badge but, because they do not automatically qualify,
have to depend on the discretion of local authorities to grant
them a badge.
Nottingham and District CAB saw a man suffering
from polio in his left leg. The leg was without feeling and the
client uses braces whenever he has to walk anywhere. He could
only walk for 400 yards before he started to suffer acute discomfort.
As he was unlikely to qualify for higher rate DLA, he was going
to have to rely on the discretion of his local authority to decide
he was in need of a badge.
A woman visited Telford CAB having been refused
a blue badge for her disabled daughter on two occasions. The client
had a blue badge in her own right owing to her own disability.
However, there were occasions when, due to her condition, she
could not drive her daughter to school or other places. On these
occasions relatives or friends obliged but without a blue badge
they could not park close to the school or other amenities. The
child had physical trouble walking and tended to misbehave without
her mother's supervision.
Diss, Eye and Harlestone CAB advised a client
who was at risk from social exclusion because she had been refused
a blue badge. She had fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis and had
problems walking. She was in receipt of Incapacity Benefit and
the lower rate of DLA. The local social services department rejected
her claim and told her that they would not consider her case on
concessionary grounds due to abuse of the system. The woman's
social life suffered as a result of her not being able to park
near to local amenities.
Basing the automatic eligibility on receipt
of higher rate DLA is discriminatory for older people as Attendance
Allowance does not have a mobility element. As the law stands,
if you claim Disability Living Allowance for help with care or
mobility costs before your 65th birthday you can continue to receive
it afterwards. After reaching 65 you can only claim the less generous
Attendance Allowance, which offers no help with extra costs of
mobility or lower-level care needs and no access to the blue badge
scheme. Not only do older people feel very angry about this, but
it is increasingly at odds with the Government's intentions to
see older people remain in work.
3. THOSE WITH
SHORT TERM
DISABILITIES
Citizens Advice Bureaux have also seen people
for whom a badge would make life a great deal easier, but due
to their disability being for a short period of time, they cannot
be considered under the discretionary grounds by their local authority.
A scheme similar to that in Scotland should be considered, where
people can apply for a blue badge if their condition is temporary
(at least 12 months) but substantial:
Bishops Waltham CAB saw a man who had damaged
the tendons in his foot and was unable to walk very far. This
was unlikely to change for the next six months. He was using a
wheelchair and it would have been very helpful for him to be able
to park in the wider disabled parking spaces so that he could
get the wheelchair out of his car, and himself into the wheelchair,
more easily.
There should also be an option to apply for
a blue badge for a visiting disabled relative:
Harrogate CAB saw a man whose mother had motor
neurone disease and had to use a wheelchair. She was staying with
her son for three weeks but he was unable to obtain a Blue Badge
for the duration of her stay. The woman obviously did not have
a Blue Badge herself as she was not a UK resident.
4. CLARITY IN
INSTRUCTIONS
Although seemingly a minor issue, a lack of
clarity about how to correctly display the blue badge led to Havant
and District CAB's 82-year- old client being issued a parking
fine. She wrongly displayed the badge with the photograph side
up.
February 2008
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