The Scottish Government

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The Blue Badge Scheme

Guidance on the inspection and enforcement of blue badges for police, traffic wardens,
local authority parking attendants and issuing local authorities.

This document is also available in pdf format (164k)

1 BACKGROUND

The Orange Badges have been used in the UK since 1971, but from 1 April 2000 have been replaced by new European style Blue Badges.

2 POWER TO INSPECT: Section 73 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001

The Scottish Executive is keen to ensure that the Blue Badge Scheme provides the intended benefits to badge holders while seeking to prevent improper use. By virtue of Section 73 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001, Police Officers, Traffic Wardens and Local Authority Parking Attendants have the power to inspect badges. It is an offence to fail to produce a badge when requested to do so by any of these authorised persons.

3 The integrity of the Scheme is likely to benefit from the proper exercising of this power by identifying people using their badges in contravention of the regulations, or say, using a stolen badge. Genuine badge holders have nothing to fear from an inspection of their badge and authorised officers must not give the impression of impropriety to bona fide users.

4 These provisions will come into force shortly after this guidance document is issued.

5 ENFORCEMENT ISSUES

Nothing in this legislation is designed to diminish the freedom currently enjoyed by bona fide badge holders and it is imperative that they are treated appropriately and not inconvenienced unnecessarily by authorised officers exercising their power to inspect badges. The objective in exercising this power is to detect offences or to confirm that a person making use of the parking concessions is entitled so to do. A full explanation of the entitlements of a blue badge holder is available from the Scottish Executive.

6 The power to inspect badges can be used when an authorised officer suspects that an offence is being committed. Obviously the power can only be exercised when the person is leaving the vehicle after parking or returning to the vehicle which is displaying a badge.

7 Offences can be broadly broken down into two categories:

• The holder inadvertently or through lack of knowledge, parking inappropriately;
• The holder or other person deliberately misusing the badge.

8 In order to verify appropriate use it is essential that authorised officers should be able to inspect the relevant badge.

9 It would be advantageous if all badge holders were made more aware of their entitlements under the Scheme, the fact that they will be required to produce the badge for inspection and the consequences of misusing the badge. Local Authorities should issue appropriate guidance to all badge holders at the time of issue or renewal and ensure that their enforcement officers receive appropriate disability equality training. An information leaflet is available from the Scottish Executive on the Blue Badge Scheme.

10 Communication issues, which could arise when dealing with badge holders and may require to be addressed, are many and varied. No assumption should be made; some disabilities are not always apparent. It is essential to remember that the absence of any visible disability is not always an effective guide to whether a person is entitled to hold a blue badge.

11 It is not the role of the authorised officer to determine who is issued with a badge and as such this should never form any part of their discussion with the driver or badge holder. Each local authority will issue blue badges in line with predetermined criteria, which are of no concern to the authorised officer. Under no circumstances should an authorised officer seek justification from a badge holder regarding the disability that resulted in a blue badge being issued to them.

12 ACTION TO BE TAKEN

As outlined previously, the offences committed cover a spectrum of activity ranging from inadvertent to deliberate misuse. The type of offence will largely dictate the course of action taken. Examples of the types of misuse and range of appropriate actions are set out below.

a) Where it is apparent that the badge holder has made a genuine mistake, it is appropriate to use discretion i.e. to give relevant advice as to what the entitlements are and to encourage the badge holder to comply with them on future occasions. This type of situation will not require to be reported to the issuing authority, however it will be good practice for the authorised officer to note the details of the circumstances in their notebook. In the case of individuals who come to notice frequently for this type of situation, the issuing authority should be informed in writing. Authorised officers can issue parking tickets where frequent infringements have been recorded.

b) Where the holder has deliberately misused the badge, e.g. parked using their concession in order that an able bodied person can remove goods from the vehicle, then consideration should be given to the issue of a Fixed Penalty Ticket for the parking offence. Full details of the badge and holder should be obtained, and forwarded to the issuing authority who should retain a record of all such notifications. The authority should also write to the holder, confirming the restrictions placed on the use of a badge and outlining the consequences of continued misuse; i.e. the possible withdrawal of the badge following 3 confirmed misuses.

In the above circumstances, the badge should not be seized.

NB: If a Traffic Warden or Parking Attendant detects an offence that would merit seizure of the badge (examples follow), then the assistance of a Police Officer must be obtained.

c) Where a person other than the holder is misusing the badge, then the badge should be seized and returned to the issuing authority with details of the circumstances surrounding the seizure. The authority will then determine if it is appropriate to return it to the holder or to consider further action if regular misuse has been recorded.

d) Where the badge has been stolen or fraudulently altered then it should immediately be seized.

13 In the circumstances as outlined at c) or d) above, a criminal prosecution should be considered and it must be remembered that power of seizure of a Blue Badge is given only to a Police Officer.

14 It should be also borne in mind that any action, which involves the seizure of an individual's Blue Badge or restriction of the use of the badge, could infringe the human rights legislation by restricting an individual's right to free movement.

15 FAILURE TO PRODUCE BADGE ON REQUEST

Should a badge holder fail or refuse to produce his/her badge for inspection by an authorised officer then the parked vehicle should be treated as though there is no badge in force and issued with a Fixed Penalty Ticket for any parking offence.

16 In addition, full details of the person should be noted and a report detailing the circumstances forwarded to the issuing authority from which the badge was issued. (This may require further enquiry). As outlined above, Traffic Wardens and Parking Attendants will require the assistance of a Police Officer in some instances to confirm the identity of the badge holder/ driver. There is no benefit to any party in roadside confrontations regarding production of a blue badge for inspection. If a request for production is denied, a report should be forwarded to the issuing local authority if known to allow them to carry out further enquiries into the circumstances.

17 In all circumstances, whether the alleged misuse is inadvertent or deliberate, tact is of the utmost importance when dealing with badge holders. The aim of the inspection is to prevent improper use of badges and it is essential that genuine badge holders are not alienated or made to feel targeted by the actions of authorised officers. The support of genuine badge holders is essential in any activity designed to prevent abuse. If any doubt exists as to the exact circumstances surrounding an incident, then err on the side of the holder.

18 ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY LOCAL AUTHORITY

If any increase in powers to inspect badges is to be effective, then a robust and universal system must be established at Local Authority level.

19 At present different procedures are employed by individual Authorities to address any problems. A common system of written warnings to those badge holders who abuse the system must be established and adhered to if the use of inspections is to be successful. This should involve a timetable of written warnings incorporating a procedure to revoke a badge should this become necessary. The structure and implementation of such a system will be the responsibility of the Local Authority.

20 If a badge is seized in the course of an inspection e.g. if it was a stolen badge or was being used by someone other than the badge holder then the local authority should ensure that the badge is returned to the legitimate holder as soon as is possible.

21 FURTHER INFORMATION

Further information on the power to inspect badges and other aspects of the Blue Badge Scheme is available from the Scottish Executive Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department by writing to Area 2-D, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ (tel. 0131 244 0869) or by emailing blue.badge@scotland.gsi.gov.uk .

22 The Scottish Executive has produced this guidance with assistance from the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland, Capability Scotland, ENABLE, RNIB, RNID, Scottish Association of Mental Health, Sense Scotland, CoSLA and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.