Asked by Lord Shinkwin To ask Her Majesty’s Government what
discussions they have held with central London boroughs about
disseminating best practice in the provision of parking spaces,
specifically for disabled people who live and work in central
London. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department
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Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they
have held with central London boroughs about
disseminating best practice in the provision of parking
spaces, specifically for disabled people who live and
work in central London.
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My Lords, no such discussions have taken place. It is the
role of local authorities to manage their networks
efficiently and determine their own policies for
balancing the specific needs of their particular
communities. However, local authorities are required to
have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination,
advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations
under Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010.
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My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his Answer. Exactly
a month ago, I mentioned the problems I was having with
parking in Lambeth, as recorded at column 446 of Hansard
for 27 March. Since then the car that was being left in
the disabled bay near where I live, sometimes for three
weeks in a row and always with a blue badge on display,
has been moved. So clearly someone at Lambeth Council is
reading Lords Hansard because the young man I saw, who
walked away from the car in question without any apparent
disability, had clearly been tipped off by someone in the
council not to park in the disabled bay. Blue badge
misuse is a serious offence, yet Lambeth Council says
that in this case there is no evidence—even though I have
been advised that the blue badge in question was issued
by Lambeth Council not to a young man but to a 59
year-old woman. On behalf of all those disabled people
who genuinely rely on their blue badge and do not have
the privilege of standing up and asking a Question in
your Lordships’ House, will the Minister urge all local
authorities to prioritise tackling blue badge fraud,
including when it involves their own staff?
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I thank my noble friend. First, I am sure all your
Lordships are very pleased to learn that Camden Council
is following our proceedings very closely.
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Noble Lords
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I apologise—Lambeth. I am sure Camden is as well. The
issue which the noble Lord raised specifically about
Lambeth is an important and serious one. Abuse of the
blue badge scheme is taken very seriously, and although
enforcement is a matter for local authorities, as noble
Lords may well be aware, it is a criminal offence to
misuse a blue badge when parking, and offenders may be
prosecuted and fined up to £1,000. I would also say to my
noble friend that in 2013, the Department for Transport
introduced new legislation to enable on-street civil
enforcement officers to seize badges that are being
misused. Previously, only the police could do this. On
the point he makes about sharing good practice, I
understand that there are a series of roadshows, in which
the department is involved with local authorities,
intended precisely to share best practice and to end this
abuse.
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My Lords, the powers of local authorities were clarified
just a few years ago, as the noble Lord mentioned, in a
Bill that I had the honour of taking through your
Lordships’ House. Is that bearing fruit? Does the noble
Lord have any figures to say whether it has produced more
prosecutions of fraudulent blue badge holders?
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The noble Baroness is right to raise this. The number of
prosecutions is still low compared to the reports that
are received, partly because of the need to produce
evidence. I was involved in local government for 10 years
and had responsibility at a local level for this. Part of
it is education: a lot of people sometimes park
inadvertently and think it is okay for a few minutes. The
other, more serious, issue is the blatant abuse of
parking places by fraudulent blue badge holders, an area
where there also needs to be greater education. The
roadshows, which are sharing best practice, will help to
address the issue of enforcement more effectively.
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Can my noble friend advise the House how often checks are
made of the abuse of blue badges?
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As my noble friend will know, blue badges and disabled
parking bays are assessed as part of any traffic
enforcement that takes place in a local authority. To my
knowledge, no specific initiatives are undertaken to
check on this, but general enforcement of traffic
management rules at a local level is conducted regularly
as part of traffic enforcement in each local area.
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My Lords, the Minister referred to the responsibility of
local authorities to enforce the blue badge scheme. Is
there not a difficulty when blue badges issued by one
local authority are used incorrectly in another local
authority? Do we not have to have better enforcement
procedures to make sure that blue badges are not abused?
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I agree with the noble Lord, who raises a vital point.
That is why looking at how we work across the board and
sharing good practice will address some of the issues.
Again, I stress the point that part of this is about
education, information and dissemination, but those
involved in traffic enforcement should know what the
specific rules are in order to ensure that effective
enforcement can be carried out.
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My Lords, could I invite the Minister to extend his
comments to another aspect that affects people with
disabilities of all kinds, which is parking on or
obstructing pavements? This has become an increasing
problem for people with mobility problems of one kind or
another. When looking at this problem, could the Minister
also bear in mind the need to keep pavements clear for
people?
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Again, the noble Lord raises an important point. Outside
London, and indeed in certain boroughs of London,
pavement parking is permitted. It causes a big issue in
terms of access—and not just, dare I say it, for the
disabled. I still have reasonably young children, one
still in a pushchair, and this is a problem for young
families attempting to get through. The noble Lord makes
a very valid suggestion and we will certainly ensure that
it is part of the discussion.
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