Black Country and Staffordshire councils failing to prosecute blue badge misuse

Charity Disability Rights UK said it is "shocking" that nearly a third of councils are not taking any measures to stop abuse of the scheme.

Councils issue blue badges to people with disabilities to allow them to park closer to their destination.

Department for Transport data shows that Dudley, Wolverhampton, Walsall and Staffordshire were among 46 councils that did not have a policy in place for tackling misuse in the financial year 2019 to 2020.

Sandwell Council, however, does have a policy for prosecuting blue badge parking abuse – but did not prosecute anyone in 2019 to 2020. A spokesman for Sandwell Council said: "We take the abuse of blue badges very seriously and we will confiscate badges that we know are being misused – however this doesn’t usually require a prosecution in court.

“Blue badges are vital to disabled people and we will take action against anyone found abusing the system.”

Dudley Council says it now has a system in place to manage the blue badge process. Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member for health and adult social care, said: “Blue badges are a lifeline to many of our residents and it is therefore important we make sure they are used properly and people do not abuse the system.

“We now have a policy in place to manage the blue badge process, which also outlines what we will do if anyone is found to be in breach of the rules. To fulfil the policy, we have employed an enforcement company to work on our behalf to patrol areas of the borough and identify anyone breaching the guidelines around using blue badges.

"If anyone is found to be abusing the system, the council will seize the blue badge, and offenders can face fines and criminal prosecutions”

Across England, drivers abusing the system were prosecuted 1,429 times in 2019 to 2020, three fewer than the previous year. In 98 per cent of cases, the prosecution was against non-badge holders.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: "Abusing a blue badge is a serious offence and councils must take it seriously.

"Local authority traffic wardens have to cover lots of ground by observing urban centres, rural car parks as well as monitoring residential parking zones.

"Due to the reduced number of wardens, abusers feel they have a high chance of getting away with it."

Some people qualify for a blue badge automatically, while others have to be periodically re-assessed. The scheme was recently extended to include those with learning disabilities, mental health conditions and other hidden impairments.

In Staffordshire, 56,461 badges were held last year, while 17,002 were held in Dudley, 15,035 in Sandwell, 14,536 in Walsall and 10,112 in Wolverhampton.

Across England, 2.4 million blue badges were held in the year to March – a seven per cent increase on the previous year.

Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, said: "The blue badge scheme is absolutely vital to enabling disabled people to get out and about.

"We would like to see all local authorities take active steps to protect blue badge parking spaces for disabled people, with zero tolerance for people who abuse the scheme or those who unlawfully park in blue badge spaces."

David Renard, transport spokesman for the Local Government Association, said councils are cracking down on the growing crime despite limited resources.

He said: "Many blue badge fraudsters are being brought to justice by councils who will come down hard on drivers illegally using them."

He added that people should tip off their local council if they suspect someone is abusing the scheme.