Concern over 'excessive' delays to get blue badges

Some people with disabilities have said there are "excessive hoops" to jump through when applying to become a blue badge holder or for vehicle adaptations.

David Bowman, whose wife Anne has severe brain damage, said he went through a process that was "unnecessarily complicated" when renewing for a blue badge.

And Laura Crawford, from the Forest of Dean, has fibromyalgia and said it felt like she was being "bounced from service to service" to get a wheelchair hoist added to her car.

Gloucestershire County Council said that high demand for the service has led to some applications being delayed but they are trying to reduce wait times and improve communication.

Blue badges are disabled parking cards issued by local authorities to help people with mobility issues park closer to the goods and services they need to use.

Crawford's conditions, which include FND (functional neurological disorder) and MCAS (mast cell activation syndrome), cause pain, dizziness and fatigue.

When she applied to private company to have a wheelchair hoist added to her car, she was told she would need proof of being a wheelchair user.

After visiting her GP, Crawford was told to submit a written request, which took 14 days to arrive.

"There's so many hoops you have to jump through," she told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

Crawford said that when the letter was finally ready, she was charged for it and had to travel to collect it in spite of her condition, which causes extreme fatigue and makes it difficult for her to travel.

"When you try and get this letter, they tell you it doesn't fall under the NHS because it's a private letter, so you have to pay for it," she explained.

NHS England said responsibility for the process of applying for a hoist lay with the private provider and a letter from a GP should not have been necessary.

Meanwhile, Bowman, from Fairford in Gloucestershire, said renewing his blue badge was "unnecessarily complicated".

"It seems like you put in as much information for the renewals as you do for the application," he said.

"Certain applications, there's maybe a chance that the person will improve so the blue badge will no longer be valid, but there are other situations that are not going to improve, so why doesn't the system flag them?"

Applications for a blue badge typically take up to 12 weeks, however Bowman was told two months after he first submitted the renewal that the decision was "unlikely to be made by then".

Bowman said that the email informing him of this said that an agreement had been made with Gloucestershire Police that there would be no punishment for Bowman and his wife to continue using the expired badge, however they were due to go to Cornwall within the next few weeks.

After questioning the delay and explaining their situation in an email, Bowman said that the renewal was approved within 24 hours, although the badge itself took two further weeks to arrive.

"I think a renewal application should be simpler than the initial one," said Bowman.

Lisa Spivey, the leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said that she was sorry for the delays and appreciated the frustration it could cause.

"While people need to reapply when their badge expires, we record where further evidence is unlikely to be needed and take a practical approach to future applications wherever possible.

"We are currently experiencing high demand, which means some applications are taking longer than our usual 12-week turnaround time," she said.

"We have contacted applicants about the delays and are working to reduce waiting times and improve communication."

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