Blue Badge

As the Regs have changed allowing people with “hidden disabilities” like PD and anxiety to apply for a Blue Badge. Can anyone tell me if you also need to be in receipt of PIP before they will consider application? Many thanks Katie

I have a blue badge and don’t have PIP - however I do have Attendance Allowance BUT my friend has MS and she has a blue badge and doesn’t claim either of the above - I spoke to a lady from Age UK and she helped me complete the form.

Hope this is some help to you.

By the way I have had my blue badge for some time now and have even renewed it with no problem.

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I have a blue badge but my PIP application was unsuccessful

Yes you have to have an interview with someone from the dhss after you’ve sent your completed form to the dhss,or if you have good doctor’s they dhss will contact them and then your doctor will tell them how bad you are,then you won’t have to be assessed,it may take a month or 3 before you get a response from the dhss,but they will keep you updated as to how your claim in going,hope that helps you understand,bye.

How come you’ve got a blue badge then,I understand that you have to get the enhanced rate of mobility allowance to get a blue badge,if I’m wrong please let me know,bye.

It might be because it is down to each local council to make the decision. I have had a blue badge for 2 years. I do not have any allowances or PIP, I work full time and all I did was complete the online application give them permission to contact my GP and Neurologist and pay the fee.
I also have recently been successful in applying for and getting Disabled Person Rail Card. Again quite simple though you can’t do it on line as such but need to call them up and then email in what they request as evidence in my case just a letter from GP, PD Nurse or Neurologist. Took about 2 weeks to be approved and I have already recovered more than the cost on my train fare savings.

I do not have enhanced rate of mobility (or any other benefit (though I am waiting for a response to my claim for carer’s allowance). As jps1926 says the decision to supply a blue badge is down to the local council

Jps1926, I applied for my Disabled Rail Card on line. Just filled in form on line and emailed a copy of my AA entitlement. No need to phone at all.

Hi all ime fairly new here regarding blue badge what is pip?

Hi, a PIP is a personal plan. Basically what you are entitled to under the age of 65. It is means tested, I think. It is seperate to the blue badge scheme. You apply for this on line to your local authority, we filled in the form , sent copies of doctors etc reports and were issued with the badge. We did have an assesment from a physio. All pretty painless.
Over 65 you are only entitled to attendance allowance. It’s not means tested but that’s all you will get if you are as rich as we are. Yeh right. So, if like us, you live in a semi rural area and are totaly dependant on a car. Tough, the badge is a god send , but if you can’t get in and out of a normal car stay housebound or start crowd funding for a new vechile now!

[Profanity edited out by moderator]

Hi @Margs1, good news that you have managed to apply for your DPRC on line. It’s probably because you have an AA entitlement. In my case I do not have an AA or a PIP or any benefits so there was not an obvious way I could see to complete the on line application to proceed.
Best wishes John

Hi, you can still apply. The final criteria on the government website states
“Have a permanent and sustainable disability which means you cannot walk or have considerable difficulty walking.in this case your doctor may be asked to confirm your eligibility” I hope this is of help. We recieved the badge weeks before we were told we were entitiked to attendance allowance.

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I’m amazed!! It took us years before my OH would even contemplate applying for a blue badge after 15 years since diagnosis.

IMO, PIP at the enhance mobility rate is the criteria for a blue badge and the criteria/decision should be a national, not a local council one.

We were never able to full in a form online and just pay the fee. That is ridiculous and open to abuse.

Sorry if I offend but I know of partners of people on PIP with a mobility car that do not use it for the benefit of the PWP but for personal use, even using it to drive to airports for a holiday!

benji

Hi Benji, no you haven’t offended me. I may have overly simplified the process and in addition to parkinson’s, I also have a degenerative spinal condition .
On line applications are as safe & secure IMO , as paper based ones and more and more government forms and applications are moving to on line platfforms.
For my BB aplication I had to submit various forms by scanning them in and provide proof of who I was which was a scanned copy of my Passport & driving licence. Proof of address which was a recent council tax bill. Also had to provide my Email address, telephone number & postal address. A full list of my current prescription and any health care professional involved in managing my conditions. All of this was then considered by the council as I am not in receipt of any of the automatic qualifying allowances. Which are PIP, DLA, Armed Forces compensation scheme or War Pensioners Mobility scheme.
From the Gov.uk website it list the qualifying criteria but also has a paragraph which states.
Proof of eligibility
If you are applying without one of the benefits, the application will need to be assessed by the issuing local council. To help assess the application, you’ll be asked to provide extra information depending on the answers you give when you are checking eligibility.

If you cannot walk or find walking difficult or you have a non-visible (hidden) condition, you will be asked to provide details of any:

  • relevant medication that is taken
  • relevant treatments that you receive or are due to receive
  • healthcare or associated professionals that have been involved with the treatment of your condition

You will be asked if you want to upload supporting documents. This could be prescriptions, diagnosis letters or 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.

If you have a non-visible (hidden) condition, you will also be asked questions around how journeys between your vehicle and destination are affected by your condition.

Your point of open to abuse, well regardless of method of application a blue badge is always open to abuse and will continue to be so I am afraid. I am sure we all see it a lot but there is little we can do about it except report any suspected abuse. I am sure we have all seen people not displaying BB parking in a BB parking space and the same equally applies to Parent with child spaces which are open to abuse and dare I say it BB holders who don’t have a child and use them because they can’t find a BB space.
No offence intended to anyone who reads this was or is intended. There are many people who suffer with conditions who won’t have a PIP but are equally entitled to a BB.
Have a good day

Hi Benji, it is an offence if the badge is being used by another person and rightly too. In our case neither of us wanted to go down the disability path but when it can take my husband 20 minutes to even get out of the car and he can only take spider steps holding on to my hands whike i walk backwards we were more than relieved when he was issued one. He now, with extreme reluctance, will, if I shout at him, use a wheelchair and the extra space provided by the disabled parking bay or next to the pavement on a double yellow line, makes it possible for me to haul the damn thing out of the boot of my car. BB issue is dependant on needs not what benefits a person receives thank goodness.

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