Blue badge

Overview

The Blue Badge scheme helps you park closer to your destination if you have major difficulty walking because of an enduring and substantial condition, or if you are terminally ill and have been issued with a DS1500 form or SR1 form.

An organisation can apply for a Blue Badge if it’s involved in the care of physically disabled people and uses a company vehicle to carry clients.

For information on who can automatically get a Blue Badge, who may get one and what you need to apply read the latest guidance on GOV.UK .

We are aware of ‘copy cat’ websites offering to provide Blue Badges at an additional cost. You can only apply or renew your Blue Badge from the Local Authority or GOV.UK.

If you think you have been scammed please report it to Citizens Advice.

Apply for, renew or replace your blue badge

The quickest and easiest way to apply for or renew a Blue Badge is online.

Before you start

If applying under the automatic qualifying criteria (Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance) the expiry of your badge will be linked to the expiry date of the benefit you receive, this cannot be extended once your badge has been issued.
there is a cost of £10 for a Blue Badge which is payable in the online form or over the phone
allow a minimum of 12 weeks from the date we receive your evidence for us to assess and process your application
you must provide as much information about your condition and the effect it has on you taking a journey
your current Blue Badge reference number if you’re reapplying
check your current Blue Badge expiry date before destroying it, your new badge can’t be used before it’s valid date
you may need provide the registration number for the vehicle you normally travel in

Apply for or renew your Blue Badge

If you do not want to apply online you can print the paper form and return it completed to the Blue Badge administration service: Blue Badge Application Form (Word, 202KB) .

Independent mobility assessment

During the assessment process of your blue badge application we may need to send you for an independent mobility assessment.

Should you fail to attend your independent mobility assessment then your blue badge application will automatically be refused and you cannot reapply for a blue badge for a period of six months.

Evidence you must provide

National Insurance number
Digital photo or passport size photo taken in the last month of your face and shoulders (must have written name and signature on the back)

Proof of your identity, residency and eligibility is needed as part of your application.

upload your evidence using the online form (recommended)
submit to [email protected]
bring to a Customer Access Point at the Municipal Offices or Immingham Civic Centre

This information must be provided otherwise it will delay your application. If you do not provide the correct evidence your application will be refused and you can’t reapply for 6 months.

Please provide one item from the following:

valid driving licence
birth certificate/adoption certificate
marriage/divorce certificate
civil partnership/dissolution certificate
UK citizenship certificate
passport
HM Forces Identity Card
identity Card for Foreign Nationals

The evidence provided must be dated within the last 12 months. Please provide one item from the following:

valid driving licence
Council Tax bill
Housing Benefit notification
DWP letter
pensions letter
residential care home letter confirming applicants residency (letter headed from Care Home)
SPVA Letter (Service Personnel and Veterans Agency)
if applying for a child we require your permission to check the school records for proof of address

Please provide the relevant document according to which automatically qualifying criteria you have applied under. Evidence provided must be dated within the last 12 months.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) decision letters
higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance
Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) or a BD8 form
War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement (WPMS) – Original Letter of entitlement
Armed and Reserved Forces Compensation Scheme – Original copy of benefit letter
evidence of (please provide as much evidence as you can):
prescribed medication relevant to the applicant’s disability/symptoms
a letter of diagnosis
the progression of the condition over time
specialist consultants
confirmation of ongoing treatments, clinic attendances or a referral letter
patient summary or summary care records
Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)
care plans from social services
social housing letter, assessments or reports from the local authority
letters from professionals who are involved in your care
contact details of professionals who can support your application

This notice tells you what to expect when North East Lincolnshire Council Council collects, and uses your personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act / General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Blue Badge Privacy Notice (PDF, 541KB) ..

Lost, stolen or damaged badge

Let us know if a Blue Badge has been lost, stolen or is damaged.

You must report a stolen badge to the police on the 101 non emergency number and request a full crime reference number before requesting a replacement.

Request a new Blue Badge

Application refusal

You will be notified if you are not eligible for a Blue Badge. A refund of £10 will be processed within 6 working days and your photograph will be destroyed with our confidential waste.

If you do not think all the important information was considered, you can contact us and we may review your application.

Blue Badge misuse

The badge is for your use and benefit only, it must only be displayed if you are travelling in the vehicle as a driver or passenger.

do not allow other people to use your badge, including friends and family.
you shouldn’t use the badge to allow non-disabled people take advantage of the benefits while you sit in the car.

It is an offence to misuse a Blue Badge and the maximum fine if someone is convicted is £1,000 plus any additional penalty costs relating to the parking offence.

You can report misuse of a blue badge by email at [email protected] or by phone on 01472 313131.

Introduction

The Blue Badge (Disabled Parking) Scheme provides a national arrangement of parking concessions for those people who have an enduring or sustainable disability condition. NELC and its partners are responsible for the administration and enforcement of the scheme within the borough on behalf of the Department for Transport.

The misuse of the Blue Badge scheme undermines the benefits of the scheme, impacts upon local traffic management and creates hostility amongst other badge holders and members of the public. It can result in a genuinely disabled person being unable to access designated parking spaces.

Types of misuse

The vast majority of Blue Badge holders use their badges responsibly. However, there are individuals who misuse the scheme. This misuse can take a number of forms including:

False application for a blue badge
Use by someone other than the badge holder, either to park in an otherwise restricted area (eg double yellow lines/disabled bays) or to evade parking charges
Alteration of a genuine Blue Badge
Creation of a counterfeit Blue Badge
Use of expired badges
Use of a badge the holder is no longer entitled to use
Use of a badge reported as lost or stolen

This list is not exhaustive.

It is a criminal offence to misuse a Blue Badge. In the event of someone being found to be in contravention of the Blue Badge scheme, this policy seeks to ensure that the Council:

Message is clear that misuse of the scheme will not be tolerated
Provides support to Blue Badge holders to help them to understand their responsibilities as badge holders and reduce misuse
Enforces the Blue Badge scheme in a fair and consistent manner
Takes appropriate and proportionate action to stop any misuse
Undertakes criminal proceedings when necessary

Prevention

The Council operates a robust application process to minimise the number of false applications being successful.

Every successful applicant for a Blue Badge will be issued with the Department for Transport’s, ‘The Blue Badge scheme: rights and responsibilities in England’ leaflet. This will provide the badge holder with the information they need to ensure the badge is used appropriately.

As part of the application process the applicant will agree not to allow someone else to use their badge.

Detection

The Council will inspect vehicles parked on the public highway and in Council car parks using a Blue Badge, as part of the duties of its Civil Enforcement Officers (CEO). Where there is evidence of misuse and the misuse constitutes a contravention of road traffic regulations, the CEO will take the appropriate action as per section 21 of the Chronically Sick & Disabled Persons Act 1970.

The CEO may also consider seizing the badge and returning it to the issuing authority if they establish reasonable grounds to do so and is practical.

If the misuse is by someone other than the badge holder, the Council will contact the badge holder to remind them of their responsibility to ensure the badge is not misused and that allowing another person to misuse the badge is a criminal offence. If the misuse continues, the Council will notify the badge holder that further misuse may lead to a refusal to renew the Blue Badge and that the Council may consider criminal proceedings if the misuse continues.

The Council may receive information on potential Blue Badge misuse from the public, Council employees and other 3^rd parties. We will consider all allegations made and determine the appropriate action to be taken. Actions may range from reminding the badge holder of their responsibilities to criminal investigation dependant on the individual circumstances of the allegation.

Where intelligence suggests particular areas of Blue Badge misuse, the Council will consider undertaking operations to target these areas.

Investigation

If the misuse could also constitute other criminal offences (other than road traffic offences), the Council will take the appropriate action to stop the misuse and investigate the offence. The issue of a Penalty Charge Notice for contraventions of road traffic regulations does not prevent the Council from also pursuing criminal offences. Such investigations are not limited to the badge holder, but also include third parties misusing the badge.

Criminal investigations will be conducted by professionally trained officers from the Counter Fraud Team in accordance with the Criminal Procedures and Investigations Act 1996, Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and any other legislation that may be appropriate to a particular investigation.

The Council will use the personal data it holds for the prevention and/or detection of crime where it is appropriate and lawful to do so.

Redress

Where evidence of wrongdoing is identified the Council may take one or more of the following courses of action in accordance with the relevant legislation:

Remind the badge holder of their responsibilities
Inform the person misusing the badge that they are committing offences and may be prosecuted for future offences
Retain the badge
Refuse to renew a Blue Badge
Cancel a blue badge
Refuse an application for a Blue Badge
Offer an individual a formal caution as an alternative to prosecution
Prosecution

Where the Council has grounds to believe that the badge holder will permit another person to continue to misuse a badge, the Council will consider refusing to renew the badge once it has expired.

Where a blue badge holder has been convicted of an offence in relation to the misuse of that badge, the Council will consider withdrawing the badge.

Legislation

The Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges Act 2013 as amended
The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 as amended
Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 as amended
The Fraud Act 2006
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Criminal Procedures and Investigation Act 1996

Background information

Document purpose: To set out the Council’s policy for dealing with abuse of the Blue Badge scheme.

Author: Mark Edwards

Last review and publication date: April 2022

Next review date: April 2025

Target audience: Council wide

Subject: Enforcement of the disabled persons Blue Badge scheme rules

Reference and version: NELC Blue Badge enforcement policy V1.2

For further copies email: [email protected]

Location of published copy: NELC website

Impact assess completed: Not available

Download the Blue Badge Enforcement Policy (Word, 47KB)

Contact details

01472 313131
[email protected]
Municipal Offices, Town Hall Square, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire DN31 1HU