Bob McC
Living the life of Riley
I doubt Capita give a toss.
They administer the PIP procedure for the govt..
Blue Badge - Disability Parking
- Thread starter Big Tabs
- Start date
They administer the PIP procedure for the govt..
Roog
pfm Member
I am often amazed at the complexity of forms in general and wonder how others manage to complete them as i often struggle.
I am also disillusioned by the use of the blue badge system overall, a colleague whose partner is eligible for blue badge used to abuse the system regularly once with a bunch of us in the back, no non-ambulant people involved he parked up threw the badge in the dash and strode off! He seemed un phased by our protests, he seemed to think it was his bonus for all the times when he had to help is partner when she was with him!
Equally I had an elderly friend who genuinely was in a bad way, he didn't bother to apply for a badge, even though he would probably have been eligible, he would occasionally use 'parking spaces close to the door' including dedicated blue badge spaces, and to me, common sense suggests that this was reasonable. Its just that common sense just isn't very common.
We have these rules because some people struggle with the concept of being reasonable.
I am also disillusioned by the use of the blue badge system overall, a colleague whose partner is eligible for blue badge used to abuse the system regularly once with a bunch of us in the back, no non-ambulant people involved he parked up threw the badge in the dash and strode off! He seemed un phased by our protests, he seemed to think it was his bonus for all the times when he had to help is partner when she was with him!
Equally I had an elderly friend who genuinely was in a bad way, he didn't bother to apply for a badge, even though he would probably have been eligible, he would occasionally use 'parking spaces close to the door' including dedicated blue badge spaces, and to me, common sense suggests that this was reasonable. Its just that common sense just isn't very common.
We have these rules because some people struggle with the concept of being reasonable.
ToTo Man
the band not the dog
Can't say I've noticed the Blue Badge process being arduous, however I have not renewed mine since it expired last summer. I forgot to renew it before it expired, and since I hardly go anywhere any more due to Covid I figured I should just wait until I'll get use out of it otherwise I'm spending £20 needlessly (Blue Badges were free in Scotland until a few years ago!). Is the process more arduous for those who are applying for the first time or have an expired badge?
FWIW the PIP and ESA applications are the two most tedious and long-winded forums I've ever had to fill out, but I purposely provided as much gory detail as possible at the outset to minimise the opportunity for them to stall the process by coming back to me asking for more info!
FWIW the PIP and ESA applications are the two most tedious and long-winded forums I've ever had to fill out, but I purposely provided as much gory detail as possible at the outset to minimise the opportunity for them to stall the process by coming back to me asking for more info!
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
I have had Blue Badge for a decade or so.
There is no concession for previously applying, you have to go through the whole process -
at least with Nottm. County Council that is the case.
Arduous either way.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
Yes.
Filling those forms out makes me feel ill.
The only good thing is that once done, it is relatively easy to refer back to your previous form given that a copy was retained. Assuming that not much changes when disabled.
The Wife is very competent at keeping a file with all my hospital letters in -
invaluable -
The Wife I mean
.I would be flooked without her.
Derek Wright
pfm Member
I have great difficulty in writing clearly by hand so in order to fill in a form I have to type the input and print the output. In the early days of the Blue Badge I discovered that the application form was suppied via a web site and that the application form was readable as a PDF form using the PreView application on a Mac. I could then fill in the form using the PreView App and adjust the type size to fit the spaces available on the application form.
I could then keep a copy of the form and reapply it to the next time I had to apply. The form has changed format over time but the same type of questions are asked. So I use the data I have previously typed in to use for the next blue badge request form this ensures my answers are consistent. New symptons are added to the form as they are needed or occur. THis year I discovered that they will accept a camera phone picture eg iPhone picture.
I also use this same method to fill in booking forms for cruises etc, again using a copy and paste. I became quite competent at this during the lockdown filling in holiday application forms which would get cancelled or delayed.
I could then keep a copy of the form and reapply it to the next time I had to apply. The form has changed format over time but the same type of questions are asked. So I use the data I have previously typed in to use for the next blue badge request form this ensures my answers are consistent. New symptons are added to the form as they are needed or occur. THis year I discovered that they will accept a camera phone picture eg iPhone picture.
I also use this same method to fill in booking forms for cruises etc, again using a copy and paste. I became quite competent at this during the lockdown filling in holiday application forms which would get cancelled or delayed.
wow&flutter
pfm Member
In his latter years my father had a couple of blue badge renewals. I took him to a local library in which he’d never been and a wonderful lady behind the desk took his pic and filled out the form. She had obviously done it many times as we were in and out in no time at all and the paperwork was transferred internally.
New badge arrived within the week. When he died the badge and his bus pass were returned to the local council office and the contained info meant all relevant Government offices were informed of his death.
Quite efficient actually.
New badge arrived within the week. When he died the badge and his bus pass were returned to the local council office and the contained info meant all relevant Government offices were informed of his death.
Quite efficient actually.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
That was the old system - which I used and worked well.
Wife informs me that the online application may take up to 12 weeks for them to process.
gavreid
Pretty Words...
It's not easy to get a disabled bus pass either - and you must pay the doc for filling out the evidence form. Even the blind are expected to reapply
I am in agreement, it is any form where the government has to pay something out, they make it as difficult, complicated, and tedious as possible so you give up with it.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
And don't talk to me about the hassle of applying for a renewal of your driving licence if you're blind. You'd have thought the DVLA hadn't heard of disability discrimination...
Tony Lockhart
Avoiding Stress, at Every Opportunity
That’s nothing. Ever tried to help a blind person apply for their private pilot’s licence? Obstacles all the way.
Barrymagrec
pfm Member
Well, at least the applicant doesn`t see them.
Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
And you try finding a training aircraft with a Braille instrument panel...
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
We are going to encourage eldest Son and his Missus to apply for a blue badge as their young Son has cerebral palsy - he will always have mobility problems - so this would make life a bit easier for them. He is getting too heavy to carry, even for short periods.
Big Tabs
looking backwards, going forwards
It does depend on individual circumstances, a lot quicker if one scores enough points on their ‘who qualifys’ questionnaire, or gets a straight ‘yes’ due to benefits received.
Not so fast if one has to prove eligibility.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-can-i-get-one/can-i-get-a-blue-badge
Mike Hughes
pfm Member
Interesting thread. Some observations:
- hard as DLA, PIP and AA applications appear on the surface they become a sight easier when you throw away DWP guidance on how to complete them and focus on a couple of real world examples per question as to what happened the last few times an attempt was made to perform the activity in question. This is not “I have x and so therefore I cannot do y” so much as “the last time I attempted y this is what happened; this is why it happened; this is where it happened; who saw it and what happened next. The first is assertion. The second is evidence.
- Benefits and Work is a solid site but it’s a ghost town nowadays and in all conscience it’s hard to recommend paying for stuff which is freely available elsewhere. Their materials are good but they essentially take a belt and braces approach which arguably simply isn’t necessary once you understand the value of detailed anecdotal evidence over medical evidence in almost all cases.
- I note the comment about repetition in these forms. I’m familiar with all 3 and I see no repetition within any of them. More likely is the fundamental issue of not understanding why you’re being asked what you’re being asked. I’d be interested to hear what exactly is repeated.
- one of the great myths of modern times is blue badge fraud. It’s a bit like benefit fraud. Everybody absolutely knows a benefit fraudster right up until you start to talk about invisible impairments; right up until you ask them what the criteria for the benefit itself are; right up until you point out that DWP accounts are so reliable they’ve been qualified for 3 decades and right up until you point out that the media stories on this hype genuinely rare individual cases as opposed to the organised crime type fraud which is the actual fraud problem within the benefit system. Oh and then you have Universal Credit, which has systemic fraud effectively built in.
- Blue Badge prosecutions are incredibly rare and that’s not because they’re hard to catch. It’s because they’re incredibly rare. Again, everyone sees it everyday; absolutely knows it happens right up until you talk about invisible impairments; right up until you point out that many people confronted by idiots actually have health conditions they’re too embarrassed to reveal to family; employers etc. and certainly won’t be talking to a stranger about. Also useful to remember that blue badge holders often have fundamental problems with mobility, grip, movement etc. and so the people who regularly challenge them often look idiots when the badge and its holder can be found to have slipped off a sill that the owner struggled to get it onto in the first place. Another very solid reason why people get frustrated when those 100% nailed on fraud cases rightly never get near a court room. Useful also to remember that if you’re targeting such people you are skirting with the possibility of an actual prosecution for a disability hate crime. There is at least one local authority which makes very loud noises about its success rate in blue badge fraud prosecutions as a percentage. It always fails to mention that the total is single figures and always fails to mention that there have been more successful hate crime cases against people falsely or maliciously reporting than there have ever been fraud cases.
- the narrative around blue badges is led by central government. Accessible parking takes up valuable real estate; allegedly inhibits development and doesn’t generate income. Government also don’t want the Motability scheme for similar reasons. The perpetual crack down on fraud is supported by data which might politely be described as open to question. It should hardly be a surprise that the form is made as onerous as possible and that most LA sites make it far easier to report a suspected fraud than claim in the first place.
- loved the example of the person using a blue badge for other people. Absolutely legal if, for example, the first part of the journey had been undertaken for the partner who has been dropped off and then others are picked up for part of the journey which could be classified as a return journey. Assumptions about what the blue badge holder thought or seemed to think need to be tempered by the knowledge that they are indeed… assumptions and that you have no idea of the extent to which the partner was in the car.
- hard as DLA, PIP and AA applications appear on the surface they become a sight easier when you throw away DWP guidance on how to complete them and focus on a couple of real world examples per question as to what happened the last few times an attempt was made to perform the activity in question. This is not “I have x and so therefore I cannot do y” so much as “the last time I attempted y this is what happened; this is why it happened; this is where it happened; who saw it and what happened next. The first is assertion. The second is evidence.
- Benefits and Work is a solid site but it’s a ghost town nowadays and in all conscience it’s hard to recommend paying for stuff which is freely available elsewhere. Their materials are good but they essentially take a belt and braces approach which arguably simply isn’t necessary once you understand the value of detailed anecdotal evidence over medical evidence in almost all cases.
- I note the comment about repetition in these forms. I’m familiar with all 3 and I see no repetition within any of them. More likely is the fundamental issue of not understanding why you’re being asked what you’re being asked. I’d be interested to hear what exactly is repeated.
- one of the great myths of modern times is blue badge fraud. It’s a bit like benefit fraud. Everybody absolutely knows a benefit fraudster right up until you start to talk about invisible impairments; right up until you ask them what the criteria for the benefit itself are; right up until you point out that DWP accounts are so reliable they’ve been qualified for 3 decades and right up until you point out that the media stories on this hype genuinely rare individual cases as opposed to the organised crime type fraud which is the actual fraud problem within the benefit system. Oh and then you have Universal Credit, which has systemic fraud effectively built in.
- Blue Badge prosecutions are incredibly rare and that’s not because they’re hard to catch. It’s because they’re incredibly rare. Again, everyone sees it everyday; absolutely knows it happens right up until you talk about invisible impairments; right up until you point out that many people confronted by idiots actually have health conditions they’re too embarrassed to reveal to family; employers etc. and certainly won’t be talking to a stranger about. Also useful to remember that blue badge holders often have fundamental problems with mobility, grip, movement etc. and so the people who regularly challenge them often look idiots when the badge and its holder can be found to have slipped off a sill that the owner struggled to get it onto in the first place. Another very solid reason why people get frustrated when those 100% nailed on fraud cases rightly never get near a court room. Useful also to remember that if you’re targeting such people you are skirting with the possibility of an actual prosecution for a disability hate crime. There is at least one local authority which makes very loud noises about its success rate in blue badge fraud prosecutions as a percentage. It always fails to mention that the total is single figures and always fails to mention that there have been more successful hate crime cases against people falsely or maliciously reporting than there have ever been fraud cases.
- the narrative around blue badges is led by central government. Accessible parking takes up valuable real estate; allegedly inhibits development and doesn’t generate income. Government also don’t want the Motability scheme for similar reasons. The perpetual crack down on fraud is supported by data which might politely be described as open to question. It should hardly be a surprise that the form is made as onerous as possible and that most LA sites make it far easier to report a suspected fraud than claim in the first place.
- loved the example of the person using a blue badge for other people. Absolutely legal if, for example, the first part of the journey had been undertaken for the partner who has been dropped off and then others are picked up for part of the journey which could be classified as a return journey. Assumptions about what the blue badge holder thought or seemed to think need to be tempered by the knowledge that they are indeed… assumptions and that you have no idea of the extent to which the partner was in the car.