CHANGES TO BLUE BADGE ELIGIBILITY

Many of you may have been refused a blue badge recently or have been unable to renew your existing Blue Badge. Here is an explanation for the changes from The London Borough of Redbridge and how they are dealing with these changes.

In January 2008, the Department For Transport issued all Local Authorities with new guidance for the issuing of Blue badges. Unfortunately regardless of whether your application is a new one or a renewal it has to be assessed in the same way.  There are two types of eligibility: -

Type 1     is “Eligible without further assessment”.

                 This refers to those people who automatically qualify under the

                  following criterion: -

                  Receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability

                  Living Allowance  (HRMCDLA);

                   Is registered blind; 

                   or

                   Receives a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement (WPMS)

Type 2      “Eligible subject to further assessment”

                  People who would be considered eligible subject to 

                  further assessment are those who are  

                  more than two years old and fall within 

                  one or more of the following descriptions:

·        Drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe disability in both arms, 

         and is unable to operate, or

         has considerable difficulty in operating, 

         all or some types of parking meter;

·        Is unable to walk or has very considerable difficulty in walking 

         because of a permanent and substantial disability.

Under type 2 supporting medical evidence can be supplied but we are no longer requesting information from GP's (as per the Department for Transport Guidance) This in essence means that once a person has been refused they are given the opportunity to appeal against the decision at which time they can provide information to support their application from a hospital consultant, physiotherapist or an occupational therapist.   If they are unable to provide any additional information they are offered a Mobility Assessment, which is carried out by an independent occupational therapist, we make all the arrangements.   We are looking to move, eventually to anyone who does not meet the automatic criteria having to have a mobility assessment.   We have been trying to phase in all the changes over the last year - starting with a new application form, changing the form that we sent to the GP asking much more detailed questions in the hopes that they would give us the detail that we needed so as to not necessarily ask all those people who do are not under the automatic to have a mobility assessment.   This has not proven to the be the case however, GP's do not give us sufficient information to make an informed decision, and we cannot help but notice that some GP's will write exactly the same on every report they send in.   We have one GP who writes the same word for word on every form he completes.

In an attempt to make all things equal - we have now decided that Mobility Assessments are the only fair way of moving forward.  However, once a person has had a mobility assessment and is awarded the badge on the basis of the Assessor saying they are eligible - any further renewals should be just a paper exercise. 

We hope this helps clarify the position the Local Authority are in and the changes we are required to make in order to meet the Department for Transport's requirements on issuing a blue badge.