Blue disabled badge renewal - is the phone assessment normal?

I’ve had to renew mine three times now and have never had a telephone assessment or any telephone calls.

Hear Hear Allira👏👏👏its like that a LOT near us.(although my disabled driver son did once forget to put it on display as he had put the new replacement in his glove box when he usually keeps it in drivers door) So you could expect to give benefit of the doubt to one or two now& again, but we've been out &about and theres been a whole row of them in the spaces, & only1 or 2 with a BB🤨

Grannytomany- I guess it depends on what your disability/medical condition is, and also if you have PIP& what level award, and whom you get on the day manning the renewal posts,as it were.

No, asking how many buses is indeed the question.It guides on how much length/how far you can walk.

Kamiso- i had same kind of treatment back in 2019 and the young woman never took any notice of all the aids i use to help me, or my daughter helping me, and her report was full of things i had never even said to her, or just her assumptions on what i could manage to do- i was on ESA benefit at the time (not UC then) and that stopped along with PIP i had nothing to live on.I had to go through 10 weeks or more like that and jump through many hoops to get it reinstated.By then i was sick with worry as my youngest son had only just left school,and was starting college.We were both living on his Child benefit. he was waiting to hear about PIP in his own right too,has he has disabilities/medical problems.They had reduced me to having to live off my own childs money, and even some of his 'money to live on' was tied up in my ESA, so they effectually 'robbed' a disabled child of what he was entitled to as well.

I have a blue badge and as my health has deteriorated quite a lot since it was issued, would not expect it to be cancelled. When I first had it, I tried to go shopping on better days, when I could manage to walk across a car park, or into a shop. Sadly there are very few better days now and so my options are either, being able to park directly opposite the shop I want to go in, to use my mobility scooter , when I go to the market, where the stall holders know me and are kind enough to bring me what items I ask for , so that I dont have to get on and off the scooter, which causes me the most pain, but at the moment the paths and roads are so full of potholes that I can end up in a lot of pain using that.

Without my badge I would be really stuck, as when I first moved here I could walk to the bus stop, but not possible now. I live in a ground floor flat now and cant manage stairs, but if they contact me and try to say I dont need the badge, I will invite them to visit me and see for themselves. Here there is a community group, where they know all about forms etc etc., and also I know that there is someone in a church group, who is knowledgable about forms, and if you are having difficulties I would recommend contacting people like this. Firstly they are used to the scheme, and can put points across in a better way than you can on your own, and though it should not make a difference, I think that when they speak to the badge people it is like a game of chess. They know all the ins and outs and can call checkmate on their bullying ways. I heard one lady state to someone that she had worked in their department before her retirement and so understand all the possibilities . That I thought was like the poacher turned gamekeeper and was much to the advantage of her clients!

I’ve been following this discussion with interest and some apprehension. I last renewed my badge 2 years ago and it was very straightforward ( online). But as posters on here say, councils seem definitely to be making it harder. Apparently some don’t sent reminders, I can’t remember if mine did so I’ve written a reminder in my diary for 3 months before it expires.

Hello all,

Thanks for continuing to share your experiences. It's so sad to see what people are having to go through not just in life with illness but the battle to get hold of a simple tool that would help our circumstances - the blue badge.

I finally got an email to say I'll be awarded mine so a huge sigh of relief there.
At the end of the call I did ask the chap to Google my condition and the link between travel - I can only assume that helped because up until then the questions were so irrelevant.

Dazy

Hello all,

Thanks for continuing to share your experiences. It's so sad to see what people are having to go through not just in life with illness but the battle to get hold of a simple tool that would help our circumstances - the blue badge.

I finally got an email to say I'll be awarded mine so a huge sigh of relief there.
At the end of the call I did ask the chap to Google my condition and the link between travel - I can only assume that helped because up until then the questions were so irrelevant.

Really pleased to hear this Dazy. I’ve found this thread quite upsetting - as if having mobility problems isn’t bad enough without having to worry about the renewal of one of our lifelines. My disability is progressive so can’t possibly improve. When I was awarded AA they made it a lifelong award because of this. I really can’t understand why my blue badge can’t be the same.

Do permanent badges exist in the UK? We are moving back shortly and my husband's French one is permanent. We know we can use that in the UK under a Europe wide agreement, but don't yet know if he will have to change to a UK one eventually. His condition won't change.

Mamie

Do permanent badges exist in the UK? We are moving back shortly and my husband's French one is permanent. We know we can use that in the UK under a Europe wide agreement, but don't yet know if he will have to change to a UK one eventually. His condition won't change.

Sadly and imo stupidly no. Awarded for 3 years at a time. Interesting question as to your being able to carry on using French one - my guess would be that there’s something in the regs about permanent residency

Sadly and imo stupidly no.

It is stupid and bureaucratic.

At one time a temporary badge could be awarded if someone was waiting for eg a hip or knee operation and other people with long-term conditions not have to keep re-applying.

I'm not sure what the rules are as it seems to vary between counties. Some places there was a nominal charge and the badge was awarded fairly quickly, other places it turned into an unnecessarily stressful and prolonged fight!

Some questions seem irrelevant
eg - can you dress yourself?
- are you able to cook a meal?

What that has to do with whether you can walk to the shops or not is puzzling.

Allira

^Sadly and imo stupidly no.^

It is stupid and bureaucratic.

At one time a temporary badge could be awarded if someone was waiting for eg a hip or knee operation and other people with long-term conditions not have to keep re-applying.

I'm not sure what the rules are as it seems to vary between counties. Some places there was a nominal charge and the badge was awarded fairly quickly, other places it turned into an unnecessarily stressful and prolonged fight!

Some questions seem irrelevant
eg - can you dress yourself?
- are you able to cook a meal?

What that has to do with whether you can walk to the shops or not is puzzling.

I think the short term temp badge situation is very much dependent on the la . For the standard 3 yr one whilst the overall scheme is national, as we’ve seen on here there seem to be huge variations in implementation and the process of assessment. When mine’s due for renewal I get a real sinking feeling. I endorse very much those who suggest getting help with applying especially if it’s your first time or you don’t feel very confident. What makes me sad most though is the feeling that ‘they’ are not there to help and support us but rather to pounce on an ill advised word and refuse us . I know this isn’t universally true but it’s how I feel

What makes me sad most though is the feeling that ‘they’ are not there to help and support us but rather to pounce on an ill advised word and refuse us . I know this isn’t universally true but it’s how I feel

It's true here!

DD2 is due to renew her BB mid-Summer and like others, her letter states her entitlement (there’s an odd word) is for life. We don’t anticipate any problems. There was one time when her badge was late, due to an address issue and DD2 had a parking ticket - despite a note on the old BB explaining the out of date badge and her car having visible hand controls! It wasn’t overturned, despite appealing.

It’s a sad fact that some individuals continue to display a BB after the disabled person has died, so I suppose a 3 year limit seems sensible, but those who re-apply routinely shouldn’t have to jump through hoops. There should be stronger punishments for those who abuse the system.

Allira

Instead of interrogating those who apply for renewal of Blue Badges and dismissing verification from hospital Consultants etc, perhaps some of these people should be out on the streets doing something about the people without disabilities who do not have Blue Badges but who park in the disabled spaces.

Or use other people's badges. I used to work with quite a senior police officer who used his late mother in law's badge. At least that stopped when he couldn't renew it.

Dazy

Hello all,

Thanks for continuing to share your experiences. It's so sad to see what people are having to go through not just in life with illness but the battle to get hold of a simple tool that would help our circumstances - the blue badge.

I finally got an email to say I'll be awarded mine so a huge sigh of relief there.
At the end of the call I did ask the chap to Google my condition and the link between travel - I can only assume that helped because up until then the questions were so irrelevant.

Well that's good news.

I’ve thought about the problem of illegal use of blue badges and concluded it’s quite hard to police. The offended can only be caught if the enforcement officer catches him /her in the act.

Offender not offended

Dazy - so pleased you had your badge renewed. I'd contact your local authority now to make sure that all your evidence sent has actually now been recorded on your blue badge file. This should give them no excuse next time to question you further again because if they do their job thoroughly then they should be referring to your past records of medical info on your next application to help them determine that another assessment isn't needed . At my work, sometimes the occupational health assessor would note that " no further assessments needed and to auto renew all future badges ' This was where the medical condition was something that would never improve or only get worse eg Parkinson's.

Tuliptree

Mamie

Do permanent badges exist in the UK? We are moving back shortly and my husband's French one is permanent. We know we can use that in the UK under a Europe wide agreement, but don't yet know if he will have to change to a UK one eventually. His condition won't change.

Sadly and imo stupidly no. Awarded for 3 years at a time. Interesting question as to your being able to carry on using French one - my guess would be that there’s something in the regs about permanent residency

Yes I guess so. But I don't think broken necks get better.

Inevitably in France it involved about 20 pages filled out by the doctor. It arrived in 10 days.

Mamie

Inevitably in France it involved about 20 pages filled out by the doctor. It arrived in 10 days.

Did the doctor charge you?

Tuliptree

Mamie

Inevitably in France it involved about 20 pages filled out by the doctor. It arrived in 10 days.

Did the doctor charge you?

No she didn't. Normally in France we pay 30€ directly to the doctor at the end of the consultation and then get most of it reimbursed, but husband has a long-term serious illness and he doesn't have to pay.
The blue badges and other support for disabilities are managed by the local (wonderfully named) "Maison des Solidarités".

You need to fit the criteria . Have you compared it ?