Applying for a blue badge

I’ve had a blue badge for nearly 30 years and have been disabled since early childhood. You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS. The paperwork for this is extremely complicated and invasive and some of the questions are near enough reliant on guesswork to answer. Eg. How far can you walk without feeling pain or breathlessness ? I had my payments stopped after a nurse’s assessment a couple of years ago. She said that her extensive examination showed that there was nothing wrong with me. My doctor gave the powers that be a little nudge, pointing out that after 65 years of physiotherapy, leg braces, special shoes and painful surgery, it was unlikely that my claim was bogus . All was restored, backdated and included an apology for any distress caused. I should add that despite my condition, I worked, even past retirement age, to support myself and my children . I’m sure that this government, like a lot of the general population , equates disability rights with laziness or a devious manipulation of the system. Okay .... rant over!

You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS

I don't have the higher rate of PIP. As I said previously, mine is based on my medical conditions and the impact they have on my mobility.

Very easy only took a few minutes to apply online, badge arrived within a week

tictacnana

I’ve had a blue badge for nearly 30 years and have been disabled since early childhood. You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS. The paperwork for this is extremely complicated and invasive and some of the questions are near enough reliant on guesswork to answer. Eg. How far can you walk without feeling pain or breathlessness ? I had my payments stopped after a nurse’s assessment a couple of years ago. She said that her extensive examination showed that there was nothing wrong with me. My doctor gave the powers that be a little nudge, pointing out that after 65 years of physiotherapy, leg braces, special shoes and painful surgery, it was unlikely that my claim was bogus . All was restored, backdated and included an apology for any distress caused. I should add that despite my condition, I worked, even past retirement age, to support myself and my children . I’m sure that this government, like a lot of the general population , equates disability rights with laziness or a devious manipulation of the system. Okay .... rant over!

Sorry, but this is totally incorrect with regard to the issue of the Blue Badge. As previously state several times, you do not need to be on any benefit to qualify for a Blue Badge - they are issued purely on whether your disability is permanent and substantially affects your mobility. If you are in receipt of either standard or enhanced rate of the mobility component of PIP, you will automatically qualify for the badge without having to undergo a medical examination - this is the only difference and does not mean it’s the only way to be eligible. Many conditions, including mental health conditions, qualify for the Blue Badge if the condition is permanent and substantially affects mobility.

With regard to PIP, your assertion that it’s based on guesswork is incorrect. The questions on the application form may appear invasive but they are designed to give an overall impression of how your disability affects you on a day to day basis and also to allow the decision maker an insight as to how you personally, view your disability as well as referring to the assessment report. There are two rates of both care and mobility components and both are based on clearly defined eligibility criteria as to how claimants manage their day to day needs as well as mobility. The decision is based on observations of ability, manner of moving, pain, breathlessness and safety, during the assessment process. I’m glad your appeal was successful, but the outcome of the appeal would not solely have been based on medical evidence provided by your doctor - it would have entailed a complete review of your case by a different decision maker, taking into account all the medical evidence originally provided and any new evidence not used in the original decision. I’m not saying the process is perfect - far from it, and I too have reservations about the use of healthcare professionals who may not have much experience of the conditions they are being asked to assess and this flaw is reflected in the amount of people who take their cases to appeal and win.

Pammiel thank you for your response. Any care type allowance is assessed on length of life expectation which must be less than 6 months. Here we are 6 months since chemo started but no one would give specific term. Now just started a different chemo as original started to fail end of December. Suppose if this one fails too some professional may risk giving a length of survival estimate. Hope it's not like my DD who died two years ago with cancer. Given 6 months, died 3 weeks later. I just feel it is so easy for some, impossible for others.

Marydoll

^You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS^

I don't have the higher rate of PIP. As I said previously, mine is based on my medical conditions and the impact they have on my mobility.

Crossed similar posts with you. Not really sure what else we can say to dispel the myth that you have to be on benefit to get a blue badge !!

4allweknow

Pammiel thank you for your response. Any care type allowance is assessed on length of life expectation which must be less than 6 months. Here we are 6 months since chemo started but no one would give specific term. Now just started a different chemo as original started to fail end of December. Suppose if this one fails too some professional may risk giving a length of survival estimate. Hope it's not like my DD who died two years ago with cancer. Given 6 months, died 3 weeks later. I just feel it is so easy for some, impossible for others.

For PIP your doctor needs to state that life expectancy can reasonably be estimated between 5 and 12 months - it may be worth explaining your difficulties and asking if anyone is prepared to complete the DS1500 form for your DH, as this is all that’s needed to fast track the application. I’m sorry, I completely forgot to ask whether your DH has reached state pension age - if so it will be Attendance Allowance you would claim, not PIP. Even if you can’t claim under the special rules, it may be worth considering a claim based on his condition and level of difficulty day to day. I’m so sorry you’re going through this - if you want to PM me I can certainly make a few enquiries for you as to the best course of action. ?

Pammie1

Marydoll

You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS

I don't have the higher rate of PIP. As I said previously, mine is based on my medical conditions and the impact they have on my mobility.

Crossed similar posts with you. Not really sure what else we can say to dispel the myth that you have to be on benefit to get a blue badge !!

We can say it until we are blue in the face.

This kind of misinformation, puts people off applying.

Marydoll

Pammie1

Marydoll

You have to have the higher rate of the mobility component of what is now known as PIPS

I don't have the higher rate of PIP. As I said previously, mine is based on my medical conditions and the impact they have on my mobility.

Crossed similar posts with you. Not really sure what else we can say to dispel the myth that you have to be on benefit to get a blue badge !!

We can say it until we are blue in the face.

This kind of misinformation, puts people off applying.

That’s what worries me, because it’s a fairly simple application process and usually councils won’t ask for an expensive medical assessment if they have a clear picture of what your disability is and how it affects you, with evidence to support it. The problem is that people who have been turned down will have a different view to those who are successful, and it’s really important to understand that no matter how disabled you believe yourself to be, your level of difficulty has to meet the criteria or you won’t be successful. If you are turned down, you are less likely to think the process is fair than if you were successful. It’s human nature.

Sorry I did not mean to paste the whole thing, just the relevant paragraphs which state specific grounds for blue badges in Nottinghamshire.
It is quite unfair that different councils can operate different policies.

Oh, I see it didn’t copy the link, good.

Cabbie21

Sorry I did not mean to paste the whole thing, just the relevant paragraphs which state specific grounds for blue badges in Nottinghamshire.
It is quite unfair that different councils can operate different policies.

Just had a quick look at their website and I can’t see anything that isn’t pretty standard across the board TBH. Just to clarify, the list of evidence required to support your claim doesn’t mean you have to supply all of that documentation, just anything relevant to you.

Wherever we go around here, the disabled parking spaces are largely empty.

The opposite here, they are usually full. Often with people, who don't have a badge!

Marydoll snap. They have only just "popped into a shop". Most are too idle to look for an ordinary parking space and heaven forbid they may have to pay although locally the first 25 minutes are free to help the local shops.

My granddaughter has had one since she was 3 gears old. She is now 21 she still has a palaver every 3 years to get it renewed. It's easier online though. What doesn't help is her PIP assessment is always due around the same time and they often want to see a current PIP letter.

Callistemon
NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISABLE

MaggsMcG

Callistemon
NOT ALL DISABILITIES ARE VISABLE

Don't shout at me MaggMcG
You're very rude.

Not all disabilities are visible, I know that only too well.
However, if someone can leap out of a car, walk uphill at speed I'm perplexed how they can get a blue badge when my DH, who can scarcely walk across the road, has been refused.

Marydoll

The opposite here, they are usually full. Often with people, who don't have a badge!

oh yes, they're the ones who park on double yellow lines or over people's drives when fetching their children from school because they have borrowed their dad's or mum's blue badge!

I was reluctant to apply, probably because I was kidding myself that I was more mobile than I actually was, plus I thought it might mean a lot of red tape. It turned out to be quite straightforward - I filled in the online form and, fairly soon, a woman from the council rang to tell me that I was eligible and I would get one as soon as I paid the fee. I think that it was £10. I have to renew it in August.

It has been a godsend, as walking has become very slow and painful.

Due to the fact that here, there don't appear to be penalties for occupying a disabled parking spaces without a badge, it is widely abused.

Just before the pandemic, after parking in a disabled space in my local LIDL, I watched an elderly couple walk across the car park, go up to my car and check to see if if I had a badge.
I approached them and asked them what the problem was, they won't be doing that again in a hurry!

I am so grateful for my blue badge ( I have inflammatory arthritis and a leaky heart valve which makes me breathless). I have no parking at home and having the badge means I can park without attracting parking fines. I applied with a selfie and a screenshot of a letter from my consultant on line and the badge arrived a week after my application.

I have my blue badge, not so much because I have cancer but a long term back problems which are getting progressively worse. When my husband was alive he had a badge for the many problems he had and he could just about walk from parking the car across the pavement into the shop opposite. Now when |I am my worse I dont go out, am in too much pain and have difficulty getting in and out of the car even. At the moment things are very bad and I am very bent over and my knees are hurting a lot as I cannot stand upright and walk normally, with covid it has been worse. I cannot stand and wait and when boots had chairs there I could go in give my prescription and sit in the chair and wait. Since covid many places have removed chairs and it makes it almost impossible to collect things. But if you see me go into a disabled bay, I do not have a cane, I try to walk as well as possible and you would not necessarily know how bad it is today for me. Having done hospital car I would never misuse a parking space and know what an effort it is if you are in pain to move about. I have not been able to go into Darlington for some years now. They used to have some disabled parking close to the market but now the parking is a considerable distance from the market and I could not walk far enough to visit it. I am a widow and live alone so do not have the option of someone taking me and so I just have to do the best I can. Now York has made it difficult for us to visit the centre, siting the worries about attacks or extremists. I do not deny this is a possibility but now it means I cannot enter York at all, and many other people are in a similar situation. it is very depressing, bad enough to accept that you will never run again , cannot even walk a short distance, but now we are gradually being shut our of cities and towns , which is very saddening and it is difficult to decide whether the vague possible attack by extremists, now deny us yet more places , and the world gets smaller for us and we can go to less and less places as and when we choose. as for the photo, I dont know how they do it but my goodness how they can possibley recognise me from the awful photo and that depressers us even more!

It should not be so arbitrary and subject to the whims of Council administrative tick box assistants.
I wrote to our Senedd member but he just said it was up to individual Councils.

Pammie1

It’s worth mentioning also that to qualify for a Blue Badge your condition must be considered permanent, and to substantially affecting your mobility. I think this is the minimum threshold for most councils, so if you are being turned down for a badge, it could be because your condition is not considered to be permanent.

I have a blue badge as I have greatly restricted mobility due to arthritis in my knees. It allows me to have some life outside the house by being able to park close to a shop or restaurant but I still cannot walk around a supermarket for a full ship - thank goodness for online shopping!

I had to go for an assessment to answer some more detailed questions and walk around the building with the assessor. It was a very fair assessment, not stressful really as it was immediately apparent that even using two walking sticks I was out of breath after a few yards and the assessor stopped the physical test very quickly.

I have to reapply later this year as if I’d had knee replacement surgery then I might not need the badge. I’ve not had surgery partly due to Covid restrictions and also because I have other health issues which have taken priority. I hope I can get it renewed without too much hassle as I would be almost housebound without it.

I have never used the badge to park on double yellow lines as I just cannot break years of following the parking rules! I tend to use it in disabled parking bays.