Forum Topic

Disabled Blue Badge application palaver

Ealing council are now longer doing face to face renewal for the disabled blue badge, this also applies to new applicants.The Department for Transport have introduced a new national system for issuing Blue Badges which came into effect from 1 January 2012.  The new system aims to provide a better service to blue badge holders, also making the scheme more resistant to fraud.  Blue badge fraud currently costs the country an estimated £46m per year.Under the new system, Ealing Council will still process all blue badge applications and decide who is eligible for a blue badge but will no longer produce badges in council offices.There is a new, improved application form, what a palaver.  Fill in pages 1 - 3, if you answer yes on page 3 skip to section 7, check list and declaration. (Page 3 are you in receipt of higher rate DLA mobility component, time set or indefinitely, answer yes go to sec 7. (otherwise give your life history with all medical evidence and proof.))Badges will be produced by an external company selected by the D of T.  This company will produce badges on behalf of all local authorities in England.It will take longer to get your badge, once a complete application has been received, applications that automatically qualify for a blue badge can take up to 21 working days to produce.  Applications that require further assessment will take longer.To add insult to injury, the charge has gone up from £2 to £10, payable when you collect your badge.....from where?  With face to face issue, a council official could tell if the photo was the applicant.  I wonder how many will submit false photos.  I doubt if this new system will reduce fraud, people will still use somebody elses badge to avoid paying parking charges and or PNCs

Nicola Howard ● 5289d7 Comments

With our son having gone through this new system recently we can't really say it caused an issue, the forms weren't too bad to do, he was contacted by the council for an appointment at Acton Town Hall to collect the badge in person, with photo id to prove he was the badge holder. The new badge came within 10 days and appears to be more difficult to copy and/or forge, with a much more robust timer too.It is possible that by just phasing out the old badges in preference for the new ones, it may deter false claims, remove those that actually belong to the deceased and remove from circulation those that were provided indefinitely to those that had temporary mobility issues.As far as friends/relatives abusing the badges go, there always has to be an element of trust when providing a valuable commodity such as a blue badge, that unfortunately some will take advantage of.Regarding the cost of £10, well this could be argued either way that it is expensive compared to £2 or that actually it is probably more reflective of the real admin and manufacturing cost, in which case it is quite reasonable.

Bosko Novakovic ● 5289d

That sounds very reasonable, Bosko. Do people get temporary badges? I recall when a friend of mine was waiting for a hip replacement op, she was told she couldn't have one as her problem was temporary.

Susan Kelly ● 5289d

Check out the Churchfield road car park on a weekday (same top of that range cars every weekday) if you want to see how these badges can be abused.

Ed Nolan ● 5289d

Abusers know that their chances of being caught are quite low.

Susan Kelly ● 5289d

Huge amount of fraud and I dont think it's caught often.

Sara Nathan ● 5288d

There was a documentary about benefit cheats a few months back which, for some reason, also dealt with this. One man insisted that he'd believed that it was fine for him to use his mum's badge as he was running an errand for her; a woman drove off to drag her gran out of her care home and into her passenger seat, almost running over a traffic warden in the process.What is it with people who won't walk a few yards to the shops?

Susan Kelly ● 5288d

What is it with people who won't walk a few yards to the shops?....Laziness.Was the documentary focused around Harrow?  Permit holder 200 miles away, somebody else uses badge, is that lawful?  The misuse of the badge carries a £1000 fine upon conviction but, I see little or none of enforcement, just the withdrawal of the badge.There have been some rule changes for named drivers, they have to live no more than five miles from the permit holder, whereas it used to be 30 miles.  Also you cannot just park anywhere you feel like it, three yellow bars on the kerb, loading only bays and, bus lanes for example.  But what do the abusers care, one law for them and, another for everybody else.If the authorities were to clamp down, it would generate plenty of revenue, plus criminal convictions.

Nicola Howard ● 5288d