Blue Badge Scheme

happyfella
happyfella Online Community Member Posts: 519 Empowering
I have a blue badge and it is coming up for renewal in a couple of months but I am confused.

I have read that you automatically get a blue badge if awarded 8 points or more in the ‘moving around’ activity or 12 points in the ‘planning and following journeys'

I cannot remember what my last points were, but I was sent for an assessment to get my badge. On my new award I have 4 points for moving around and 12 points for planning and following a journey.

With these points do i have to go for another assessment or will they automatically renew my badge when i send them the evidence of my award letter

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,348 Championing
    edited October 2023
    If you live in England 12 points for following and planning a journey doesn't automatically entitle you to a BB. For this you need to have scored 10 points for activity 1E "can't undertake any journey." See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/help-for-disabled-travellers1/blue-badge-scheme/applying-for-a-blue-badge/

    If course you can still apply but you need to make sure you send some supporting evidence with your claim. https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge




  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    If you live in England 12 points for following and planning a journey doesn't automatically entitle you to a BB. For this you need to have scored 10 points for activity 1E "can't undertake any journey." See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/help-for-disabled-travellers1/blue-badge-scheme/applying-for-a-blue-badge/

    If course you can still apply but you need to make sure you send some supporting evidence with your claim. https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge
    As I have said before it is the assessment bit  - walking around a pre-designated course with various obstacles on it that will make or break the BB application. Documents etc cannot normally identify the level of walking.
    My wife's first application many years ago was refused before she even got started. At the time we had a BMW sports car which she found extremely difficult to get out of. She eventually managed it with the assessor watching her. The assessor made a comment along the lines of in managing that activity her mobility cannot be as bad as she had described on the application form.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,348 Championing
    If you live in England 12 points for following and planning a journey doesn't automatically entitle you to a BB. For this you need to have scored 10 points for activity 1E "can't undertake any journey." See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/help-for-disabled-travellers1/blue-badge-scheme/applying-for-a-blue-badge/

    If course you can still apply but you need to make sure you send some supporting evidence with your claim. https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge
    As I have said before it is the assessment bit  - walking around a pre-designated course with various obstacles on it that will make or break the BB application. Documents etc cannot normally identify the level of walking.
    That's total nonesense. Many people are awarded a BB without automatically qualifying or having to attend any assessment. Sending supporting medical evidence will often help. As you didn't send them then i can see why your wife was refused so many times.
  • happyfella
    happyfella Online Community Member Posts: 519 Empowering
    If you live in England 12 points for following and planning a journey doesn't automatically entitle you to a BB. For this you need to have scored 10 points for activity 1E "can't undertake any journey." See link. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/help-for-disabled-travellers1/blue-badge-scheme/applying-for-a-blue-badge/

    If course you can still apply but you need to make sure you send some supporting evidence with your claim. https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge





    Thank you for that. That is what I thought, but a lot of sites are saying what I have written above. On my previous PIP I got ten points for planning a journey. Our local council are a nightmare to be honest, and it will be a case of being sent for another assessment.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,348 Championing
    You're misunderstanding what the criteria is, 12 points for following and planning a journey has never automatically qualified for a BB. 

    8 points or more in the moving around part does automatically qualify you.


  • Strawberry1
    Strawberry1 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,464 Championing
    Hello 👋,  I have the paperwork for a blue badge.  Unfortunately I'm terrible with form filling and can't seem to get my head around the form without getting upset .
  • Jimm_Scope
    Jimm_Scope Posts: 5,717 Scope Online Community Specialist
    Hey @Strawberry1, forms can be quite the pain to fill in! 

    Do you have anyone close to you who could sit down with you and help? If nobody is available you can always try contacting your local citizen's advice, they can often help with form filling. Now that I'm thinking about the topic I do believe my local library has a certain day every week that they help people with administrative matters. Maybe your own local library does the same too?
  • Strawberry1
    Strawberry1 Online Community Member, Scope Member Posts: 6,464 Championing
    Hello @Jimm_Scope , I most probably will have to get in touch with Citizens Advice that's my best bet . I appreciate your support thank you. 
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    That's total nonesense. Many people are awarded a BB without automatically qualifying or having to attend any assessment. Sending supporting medical evidence will often help. As you didn't send them then i can see why your wife was refused so many times.
    I know that each council has their own way of assessing. My council always wants a full mobility assessment if you cannot claim under the automatic system.
    Looking at it logically, how can a letter, maybe from a GP or Consultant  to a patient saying that they have diagnosed Arthritis? That may well be the case but it does not prove that the patient has difficulty walking a given distance. Sending in a prescription list only shows the drugs given. As an example I can be as normal as the next guy even with 120mgs of Morphine a day in my body. Would that prove inability to mobilise? Yet by way of a physical walking machine in hospital it proved that I can't walk more than a few metres at best.
    A physical test of walking is the only provable way that it can be truly assessed.
    In my wife's case she was the author of her own misfortune by doing everything that was asked of her by the assessor instead of admitting that she was in extreme pain whilst doing it. 
  • BrettW
    BrettW Online Community Member Posts: 697 Empowering
    edited October 2023


    In my wife's case she was the author of her own misfortune by doing everything that was asked of her by the assessor instead of admitting that she was in extreme pain whilst doing it. 
    Just shows how this scheme really needs to be standardized across the entire UK and not just be left up to the discretion of whatever LA your home comes under.

    With all due respect though @2oldcodgers I believe you have said that your wife has gone through multiple attempts at obtaining a BB. If this is the case and the reason she has been refused is because, as you have stated, she complied with the requests of the assessor rather than admitting she was in pain, then why has she continued to do this rather than just telling them how ill the assessment was making her?
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    BrettW said:
    Just shows how this scheme really needs to be standardized across the entire UK and not just be left up to the discretion of whatever LA your home comes under.

    With all due respect though @2oldcodgers I believe you have said that your wife has gone through multiple attempts at obtaining a BB. If this is the case and the reason she has been refused is because, as you have stated, she complied with the requests of the assessor rather than admitting she was in pain, then why has she continued to do this rather than just telling them how ill the assessment was making her?
    I agree entirely with you on that point. Totally unfair that some LA's just accept what you write on the form as being the truth, some want maybe a copy of the prescription list to issue a BB for a non automatic case.
    Then there are other LA's like ours that will only accept an independent mobility assessment report.

    Yes she has had 3 applications turned down despite the fact that she is 80.
    Why? you ask. The first application was a no go from the start with the assessor watching how she got out of my car which was a very low one to the ground. She almost had to get out on her hands and knees!
    The assessors decision to deny her was pretty obvious after the comments she made about the car.
    The second went well to be honest she managed to get round the course but unfortunately I was not allowed anywhere near her during the assessment. I had to leave and park up on the floor lower down of the multi storey car park and that my wife would come and find me. She was in a right old state having to stumble from one concrete pillar to another. I did appeal on her behalf citing that I should have been with her as I always am when she walks. Result - no change of decision.
    The third time I must admit I pushed her into it thinking that it wasn't fair. To be truthful I had a BB myself due to the PIP award. She is far worse then I am in getting about.
    My wife never shows her true feelings to anyone other than me. She can be scared to death over something but will never show it - that is until she gets to me and it all then comes out. She refuses not to embarrass herself unless it's just with me.
    Unfortunately these traits are the result of a bad family upbringing plus an abusive ex-husband - she is a survivor of physical and emotional abuse.
      
  • MW123
    MW123 Scope Member Posts: 905 Championing

    Hello @2oldcoggers

    It's quite common for individuals of specific generations in the UK to exhibit reserve when it comes to expressing their emotions. Nonetheless, it's crucial to offer support to your wife, who has endured both physical and emotional abuse. 

    You mention her initial Blue Badge assessment, during which she had to exit your vehicle on her hands and knees due to the car's low ground clearance. I can envision that you followed the examiner's advice and promptly replaced the car because it was completely unsuitable for her needs, resulting in the Blue Badge being ineffective in addressing the issue. 

    The second attempt seemed to indicate improvement. It's regrettable that the examiner didn't discuss the test duration or cooperate with you to establish a convenient, predetermined pick-up location for your wife following the test. Effective communication and coordination could have significantly eased her experience, sparing her the stress of navigating the car park alone. 

    In her third attempt, you acknowledge that you might have unintentionally influenced her perception of the examination as unfair. Facing any examination is nerve-wracking enough without harbouring negative thoughts beforehand. It's somewhat surprising that you encouraged her to try it a third time, considering her challenging previous experiences. 

    In consideration of your 80-year-old wife's well-being, let's hope there won't be a necessity for a fourth attempt. I am confident that your wife's welfare holds the highest priority for you. Utilising your own Blue Badge, you can guarantee that she is well-supported during your outings, thereby improving her comfort and accessibility.

     

     

  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    MW123 said:

    Hello @2oldcoggers

    It's quite common for individuals of specific generations in the UK to exhibit reserve when it comes to expressing their emotions. Nonetheless, it's crucial to offer support to your wife, who has endured both physical and emotional abuse. 

    You mention her initial Blue Badge assessment, during which she had to exit your vehicle on her hands and knees due to the car's low ground clearance. I can envision that you followed the examiner's advice and promptly replaced the car because it was completely unsuitable for her needs, resulting in the Blue Badge being ineffective in addressing the issue. 

    Yes I changed it to a SUV type of vehicle

    The second attempt seemed to indicate improvement. It's regrettable that the examiner didn't discuss the test duration or cooperate with you to establish a convenient, predetermined pick-up location for your wife following the test. Effective communication and coordination could have significantly eased her experience, sparing her the stress of navigating the car park alone. 

    No, there was no improvement she honestly believed that she had to finish the walking course come what may. Hence finishing it - she can walk normally!! The assessor didn't recognise the pain she was in throughout the course.

    In her third attempt, you acknowledge that you might have unintentionally influenced her perception of the examination as unfair. Facing any examination is nerve-wracking enough without harbouring negative thoughts beforehand. It's somewhat surprising that you encouraged her to try it a third time, considering her challenging previous experiences. 

    I told her when I dropped her off that if she was in pain at any point she should stopped and explain to the assessor how she was feeling. She just did the same thing as the second assessment and put herself in the GP surgery the following morning because of the pain.

    In consideration of your 80-year-old wife's well-being, let's hope there won't be a necessity for a fourth attempt. I am confident that your wife's welfare holds the highest priority for you. Utilising your own Blue Badge, you can guarantee that she is well-supported during your outings, thereby improving her comfort and accessibility.

     Nope, no fourth attempt - that's it.

    She is my everything and I have now had enough of the LA and in particular their BB department.

    Unfortunately my BB ran out on the 6th September  so that scuppers using a disability bay at the supermarket or parking on double yellow lines. I gave up trying to get my BB renewed after the LA were shall we say, less than helpful after losing all of my original award letters.

    I have PIP Enhanced Care & Mobility and have a Motability car. I must be one of the few holders of that award and a have a Motability car that does not have a BB!

     

    As BrettW says there should be a standard method of assessing non automatic cases. The differences between councils is astounding.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,348 Championing
    @2oldcodgers no, there’s lots of people that have a motability vehicle that aren’t automatically entitled to a BB. Scoring 12 points in following and planning a journey doesn’t automatically entitle anyone. They can still access the motability scheme. 
  • BrettW
    BrettW Online Community Member Posts: 697 Empowering
    @poppy123456 that still doesn't mean that the actual method they use to assess cases that don't automatically qualify should not be standardised. Imagine if PIP was assessed on where you live and not to a UK wide set of standardized descriptors which is actually whats happening now in terms of the blue badge scheme.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Online Community Member Posts: 64,348 Championing
    BrettW said:
    @poppy123456 that still doesn't mean that the actual method they use to assess cases that don't automatically qualify should not be standardised. Imagine if PIP was assessed on where you live and not to a UK wide set of standardized descriptors which is actually whats happening now in terms of the blue badge scheme.

    I don't believe i ever said that it shouldn't be standardised. With all due respect, 2oldcodgers doesn't really help their self. A phone call to PIP to ask them to send them a copy of their PIP award will mean they can then apply for their BB because they automatically qualify through the moving around part.
  • 2oldcodgers
    2oldcodgers Posts: 739 Connected
    BrettW said:
    @poppy123456 that still doesn't mean that the actual method they use to assess cases that don't automatically qualify should not be standardised. Imagine if PIP was assessed on where you live and not to a UK wide set of standardized descriptors which is actually whats happening now in terms of the blue badge scheme.

    I don't believe i ever said that it shouldn't be standardised. With all due respect, 2oldcodgers doesn't really help their self. A phone call to PIP to ask them to send them a copy of their PIP award will mean they can then apply for their BB because they automatically qualify through the moving around part.
    Errr I did eventually get through to the DWP - PIP back in June pointing out that the originals were sent to the LA in 2020 and they now admit to losing them. The woman on the phone told me that she would send me a copy of the original award - NIL which I said is not what I wanted I require a copy of the revised award report not a revised (MR) notice. That letter does not show the points awarded and the descriptors they relate to.
    4 months later and nothing!