Supplementary memorandum from the Disabled
Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DDB 116)
THE BLUE
BADGE SCHEME
1. The Joint Scrutiny Committee has invited
the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) to comment
on the extent to which it still needs to consider the addition
of new provisions to the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill
in respect of the Blue Badge Scheme. The Scrutiny Committee is
seeking to establish if there is a need for it to recommend further
provisions, in the light of the Secretary of State for Transport's
recent introduction of an amendment to the Traffic Management
Bill relating to the Blue Badge Scheme.
2. DPTAC very much welcomes the Government's
amendment to the Traffic Management Bill. The powers of inspection
that this will create for police, traffic wardens, parking attendants
and the new civil enforcement officers, have the potential to
lead to robust enforcement of the Blue Badge Scheme. This could
greatly increase the Scheme's credibility and effectiveness.
3. However these consequences will only
follow if the new provision is coupled with:
(a) advice to enforcement officers on good
practice in using the powers, particularly in relation to people
with disabilities who are young and who are from black and ethnic
minorities whose experience with law enforcement authorities may
not be wholly positive;
(b) advice to Blue Badge Holders that they
may be asked to produce the badge by enforcement officers; and
(c) effective monitoring of how enforcement
works in practice. The guidance and advice need to make it clear
that the check is not on the eligibility for the badge, but on
the validity of its use. The advice and guidance must also be
issued well in advance of the change.
4. However, the power of inspection was
only one of our 47 recommendations made in 2001 as part of the
review of the Blue Badge Scheme that we conducted at the request
of the Department for Transport. In December 2002 the Government
accepted 34 of them, and we are pleased that this one is now being
acted on. The recommendations, together with the Government response,
are attached at Annex A.[2]
5. We remain concerned about slow progress
in implementing a further 31 of our recommendations that the Government
has accepted. In fact the only ones which we consider to have
been fully implemented are those where we recommended the retention
of the status quo. They are retention of both the three year maximum
period for the issue of badges (Recommendation 14), and of the
three hour period for parking on double yellow lines (Recommendation
33).
6. We would like to draw the Committee's
attention to two of our recommendations, together with one later
proposal that we support, which require primary legislation and
which should be considered for inclusion in the Draft Disability
Discrimination Bill.
7. The first is adopting a less ambiguous
and stigmatising term to "institutional" to better reflect
eligible organisations. We welcome the Department for Transport's
expressed intention to replace this with the term "organisational".
The Department has said that it is seeking a suitable legislative
opportunity to make this change, but DPTAC remains to be convinced
that the draft Disability Discrimination Bill is not such an opportunity.
8. The second is the creation of a national
database. The Department for Transport does not plan to legislate
for this at present as it is about to embark on research to investigate
the feasibility of such a database, and does not wish to pre-empt
the result of this research. DPTAC's view is that this research
need not prevent a clause being introduced that would give Ministers
the power to set up a national database and to appoint an organisation
or agency to manage it. After all, the Government is seeking powers
that will enable it to lift the exemption of shipping and aviation
services from Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
It has not felt constrained from doing so by the fact that research
is still underway to establish whether or not the voluntary codes
for these transport modes have been effective.
9. A third change requiring primary legislation,
which did not arise from DPTAC's review of the Blue Badge Scheme,
is the formalisation of reciprocity agreements with EU member
states for the recognition of disabled persons' parking badges.
Under a system of reciprocal arrangements, disabled visitors across
the European Union and from other countries can enjoy the parking
concessions provided in the host country by displaying the badge
issued under their own national scheme. DPTAC considers this an
important arrangement for the many badge holders wishing to travel
abroad. This is one of the least contentious aspects of the Blue
Badge Scheme, and, if introduced, would be widely welcomed.
10. DPTAC recommends that the Scrutiny Committee
considers whether these three areas of change to the Blue Badge
Scheme, which all require primary legislation, should be proposed
for inclusion in the Disability Discrimination Bill.
26 March 2004
2 Not printed. Back
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