Applying for a blue badge

Cabbie21

In my local authority there are two routes to getting a blue badge. If you get PIP Mobility is the easy way, though as I recall you need specifically certain elements of it. If you don't get PIP you have to explain your difficulties and you will need a supportive letter from your GP, but that isn’t always enough. There may be an assessment.
My husband could do with a blue badge as his angina makes walking any distance impossible, but he wont qualify here.

I am surprised Attendance Allowance comes into it, as there isnt a mobility component to that as such, unlike PIP.
It seems to me quite wrong and unfair that different authorities have different criteria or routes.
When we visit anywhere eg National Trust properties, there is still a way to walk even if you can park in the disabled car park.

There is absolutely no requirement to be on any benefit to qualify for a blue badge - it depends entirely on your condition. And I haven’t seen Attendance Allowance mentioned specifically because as you say it would not qualify you as it has no mobility component. I did mention Disability Living Allowance (DLA) as this does have a mobility component and is paid for under 16 year olds and would qualify you in the same way as PIP. To be clear it’s only the mobility component of these benefits which would qualify you for a blue badge - higher rate mobility for DLA and either standard or enhanced rate for PIP. I would have thought Angina to the extent where it makes walking any distance difficult would have qualified someone for a blue badge and if you’ve been advised you won’t qualify, apply anyway and provide medical evidence if you can.

To the poster who said she has been advised by the council that her DH needs to be on benefit to qualify - this is wrong, you absolutely do not need to be in receipt of any benefit to apply for a blue badge. You need to contact the council to clarify what’s happening.

Thank you Pammie1 your information is spot on. As you say the criteria should be standard across all councils and as the application is online via Gov.UK it should not matter where you live. Some on here seem to have had difficulty with their applications and still seem to think it is about what benefits you are on. It is as you and I know and accept based on medical needs and benefits should not come into it. Thanks again for the very clear and precise information which many will find very helpful.

In my local authority there are two routes to getting a blue badge. If you get PIP Mobility is the easy way, though as I recall you need specifically certain elements of it. If you don't get PIP you have to explain your difficulties and you will need a supportive letter from your GP, but that isn’t always enough. There may be an assessment.
My husband could do with a blue badge as his angina makes walking any distance impossible, but he wont qualify here.

I am surprised Attendance Allowance comes into it, as there isnt a mobility component to that as such, unlike PIP.
It seems to me quite wrong and unfair that different authorities have different criteria or routes.
When we visit anywhere eg National Trust properties, there is still a way to walk even if you can park in the disabled car park.

My first application required an assessment. After that I my health continued to deteriorate and iy became easier.

What I would advise is to state the condition of your mobility on your worst days.

I’m a bit concerned by some of the posters on the thread thinking they may be excluded from applying if they’re not on benefits, and also by those who seem to be experiencing difficulties in certain areas of the country. To be clear, you don’t need to be on any benefits to apply for a blue badge.

That is what the admin person from the Council has told DH when she sent the refusal.
She said she would refer him to an occupational therapist for assessment and sent him a very long application form to fill in to be able to proceed.

Excellent post Pammie!

I’m a bit concerned by some of the posters on the thread thinking they may be excluded from applying if they’re not on benefits, and also by those who seem to be experiencing difficulties in certain areas of the country. To be clear, you don’t need to be on any benefits to apply for a blue badge. If you claim the mobility component of PIP, either standard or enhanced rate, you will automatically qualify for a blue badge and a copy of the award letter/assessment scores from DWP is usually all the evidence you will need to submit with the application form. The length of the PIP award may be taken into account - Blue Badges are usually issued for three years and if the time remaining on your mobility component award is less than this they may need further evidence of your ongoing condition.

The criteria for issue of a blue badge should be standard across all councils and application is usually online or by post since Covid. On application you will be asked to provide details of any relevant medication that is taken/relevant treatments you receive or are due to receive, and healthcare or associated professionals that have been involved with the treatment of your condition. You will also be asked if you want to upload/attach supporting documents - this could be PIP awards, prescriptions, diagnosis letters/correspondence between professionals that treat your condition.

If you cannot walk or find walking difficult, you will also be asked questions around how your condition affects your walking, how far you can walk without pain or other symptoms and whether you use any aids/adaptations or require help from another person.

If you have a non-visible (hidden) condition - heart condition, COPD, for example - you will be asked questions around how journeys between your vehicle and destination are affected by your condition, and again if you use any aids or require assistance from another person. If you have a condition which involves bowel/bladder urgency or you have a stoma, you need to state this and explain how you are affected.

It’s important to remember that the Blue Badge is essentially issued on grounds of limited mobility and your medical condition must demonstrate such a limitation in order to qualify.

All councils should be able to provide clear criteria for qualification for a badge and if the application is turned down you should receive a clear explanation of the evidence used to make the decision and why the application was turned down.

You are entitled to appeal against a decision, but you must do this within one month of the decision, and supply further evidence to which the council did not have access to, or otherwise did not consider in their original decision.

There is further information available on the Blue Badge scheme at www.GOV.UK.

BlueSky

Do you need the higher rate mobility or is the basic rate enough?

You dont need to be on any benefits but if you claim any level of PIP mobility component you will qualify for a badge without having to go through a medical.

ElaineI

DH got his fairly easily. Was assessed by physio employed by council who sanctioned it (had consultant's letter) and said he would not have to re-apply. Been a great help as he can't walk far.

Remember that the badges expire after three years, so you need to renew before expiration otherwise you will have to go through the application process again.

The last time I applied via post and no problem but every other time, because I am not wheelchairbound I had to go to the Civic Centre for an hour's interview and walk a few yards for the retired Occupational Therapist. The previous time I did explain I lifted each leg out individually and needed to open the car door fully but it fell on deaf ears.

Because I was not given one, there was no indication why and I was not allowed to appeal or reapply within a year. I did not think that to be fair.

You dont need ang benefits, to apply, in my LEA.

Do you need the higher rate mobility or is the basic rate enough?

Mine was granted, purely on medical grounds, which is probably fairer.

Yes callistemon21 the system does seem unfair if it varies from area to area, I was not aware of this. As Pammie1 says it depends on your condition not what benefits you are on (or at least it should). For the record Mr J does not receive attendance allowance nor do we have meals delivered, being granted a blue badge was purely on medical grounds It is sad to learn that there is not consistency across the country for this.

I had one in the UK and thought it might be not too hard to change it to a Spanish one, especially as we were still in the EU at the time. Wrong, so very wrong. Doctors letter then 3 interviews with a phycologist, physiologist and independent doctor. I was accessed as 45% disabled. I have a nice card o say so.. You need 30 % for a blue badge which you can then apply for! It wasn't easy in a foreign language!

Some may be in dire need, but don't have the medical evidence to back it up, which is unfair.

The whole system here is unfair, Marydoll.
Even medical evidence counts for little if you don't have Attendance Allowance or meals delivered.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We don't need anyone to help us navigate online LOUISA1523 because as I said Mr J has already been given a blue badge. I was just asking if anyone else had found it easy or off putting. Anyway we are extremely grateful to now have this as it will make a big difference for Mr J.

What helped me to get it easily in later years, I suspect, is that I have multiple comorbidities and my conditions are deemed as progressive, so I have no chance of improving, since that initial assessment.
If I had to provide medical evidence, that wouldn't be a problem. Some may be in dire need, but don't have the medical evidence to back it up, which is unfair.

It makes me very cross that it varies from area to area and that it is such a fight depending on where you live.

DH got his fairly easily. Was assessed by physio employed by council who sanctioned it (had consultant's letter) and said he would not have to re-apply. Been a great help as he can't walk far.

I have had one for many years. Initially I had to produce evidence, one piece of which was a report from that particular LEA' s occupational health officer, As I was one of their employees, they couldn't dispute it.

In recent years I have applied online and I got it in a few days.

My daughter had a long wait and hard time trying to get one for her 14 year old daughter who is now a wheelchair user. Now struggling to get some kind of disability allowance.

Serendipity22

I think it also depends on where you live.

And whether or not you have to pay.

They are free in Wales but we're not allowed to have one.

I think it also depends on where you live.

My OH's went through "on the nod" because he had Parkinsons. At the time when he got the badge, I was less mobile than he was!

When he died I applied for one in my own right - it was refused on the grounds that I was "not in enough pain" - this was tested by the fact that I was able to walk from the only car park at the test centre to the front door. I had no choice but to do this, as how else might I have got to the door? It hurt like hell, but the fact that I did it at all was sufficient to turn me down.

I could have laid it on with a trowel and groaned and grimaced - that is what I will do next time.