Disabled under 3s could get Blue Badge but GP assessment could be ditched

 
Young disabled children could benefit from Government reforms to the Blue Badge scheme.

As part of an overhaul of the system and an attempt to crack down on its abuse,  Transport Minister Norman Baker said that it was clear the system needed modernisation.

He said: “Such are the high levels of fraud in the current system that 50 per cent of Blue Badge holders now find it difficult to get a parking space and Blue Badge fraud is estimated to cost £46m a year.

“The changes I am announcing today will crack down on Blue Badge misuse, modernise the system and extend eligibility to other groups such as more disabled children under three and severely disabled war veterans and service personnel. These improvements will mean that Blue Badge holders get a much better service for less than 1p per day.”

More than 2.5 million disabled people use Blue Badges to help them park closer to where they need to get to.

But the Government estimates that badge fraud is costing the UK around £46 million every year.

Now it plans to give local councils powers to crack down on the misuse in a series of measures due to come into force this April.

Local authorities will be able to recover misused badges on the spot and a new administration system will be put into place.

Independent mobility assessments to check whether a person is eligible will replace assessments currently carried out by a GP.

To cover the costs of the modernisation, fees will jump from £2 a badge to £10.

Chair of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) Dai Powell OBE said:
“These proposals can bring us one step nearer to a fairer and more consistently applied scheme. DPTAC hope to continue working closely with the Department as it implements these measures to ensure they lead to better outcomes for disabled people.”