RELATED CHAPTER
1. Aim
The Blue Badge disabled person’s parking scheme was introduced under section 21 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. The aim of the scheme is to help disabled people with severe mobility problems to access goods and services by enabling them to park close to their destination. The scheme is open to eligible disabled people irrespective of whether they are travelling as a driver or a passenger.
The scheme provides a national range of on street parking concessions to blue badge holders. It allows them to park without charge or time limit in some otherwise restricted on street parking locations and allows them to park on yellow lines for up to three hours unless a loading ban is in place.
2. Scope
Hull City Council will ensure that badges are available to residents of Hull who meet the eligibility criteria set out in the national guidance issued by the Department of Transport. It has no flexibility to issue badges to people who do not currently meet the criteria. There are two types of eligibility and different procedures apply to each type. The types of eligibility are:
- Eligible without further assessment
- People who receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance;
- People who are registered blind or severely sight impaired;
- People who receive a War Pensioners Mobility Supplement;
- People who have been awarded a lump sum benefit at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and are certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.
People who meet the criteria above need to provide proof of identity and residency within Hull and proof that they meet one or more of the criteria above. Having done that, a badge can be issued within 5-10 working days.
- Eligible subject to further assessment – People may be issued with a badge after further assessment if they are over two years old and fall within one of the two following descriptions:
- Drives a vehicle regularly and has a severe disability in both arms which means they are unable to operate all or some types of parking meter:
- Has a permanent and substantial disability which means they are unable to walk or have considerable difficulty in walking.
If a person meets one of the criteria above, this may be clear from the desktop assessment carried out at the application stage, or they may need to be assessed by an independent mobility assessor to inform the decision making about whether a badge can be given. The assessor must be independent of the person, although not necessarily independent of the City Council and must be suitably qualified to carry out such assessments. In Hull, this means that Independent Mobility Assessments will be carried out by qualified Occupational Therapists employed by the Council.
In addition, blue badges may be issued to organisations for use in vehicles which are used to carry people who would themselves be eligible for a blue badge. There must be a clear need for the organisation to have its own blue badge rather than use the badges issued to the eligible individuals they are transporting. Examples of these may include residential homes and hospices but it is for the organisation to show why it would be impractical for them to use the badges issued to the individuals it carries.
A child under the age of three may be issued with a badge if they meet one of the following conditions:
- They have a condition which means they must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around without great difficulty;
- They have a condition which means they must always be close to a motor vehicle so that if necessary, treatment can be given for the condition in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly to a place where treatment can be given.
However, Blue Badges for children are issued by the Children and Families Service and their policy and procedure should be referred to for this group.
See also Blue Badge Parking Scheme Applications Procedure.
