Blue Badge Scheme
Somerset County Council Customer Contact Services took over the Blue Badge concessionary car parking service in April 2018. A spokesman told us, “Before this time Blue Badge Applicants completed the forms stating they had medical conditions and unless they were seen in a clinic we only had their word [for it]...Obviously this was open for abuse. The Department for Transport does not make medical evidence a compulsory requirement [for a Blue Badge but] it is a suggestion for all local authorities.” Somerset found itself in a minority of local authorities in not asking for medical evidence from applicants. A new system for Blue Badges in February 2019 made a number of changes that included the need for applicants to produce evidence for medical conditions. They now ask for one of the following:
- Copies of repeat prescriptions [or FP10 counterfoil] for the condition;
- Correspondence from GPs, hospitals or other health care professionals confirming the condition [as now routinely copied to patients after OPDs];
- Appointment letters for clinic appointments.
As you can see, these options do not require anything in particular from a general practice or a GP unless a patient asks for a print out of their record to support a Blue Badge application in the unlikely absence of the documents listed above which are all satisfactory.
However from the end of August 2019 those with Hidden Disabilities were also entitled to apply for a Blue Badge. These are “people who cannot travel without risk of serious harm to their health and safety or someone else's (such as young children with autism), people who cannot travel without "very considerable psychological distress" (BBC News ) and “… drivers or passengers with dementia, anxiety disorders or reduced mobility, the anticipation of travel difficulties such as finding a parking space can build on top of the stress of the journey itself” (Gov.uk website).The evidence criteria remain the same for all applicants but some with hidden disabilities are bound to approach practices for evidence. As the same principles apply there is no need to provide a special letter or medical report but all patients can be directed to the three evidential criteria above.
