AIBU to think Blue Badge holders can use parent and child spaces?

Or the shop should not be discriminatory.

That is your opinion, and you are welcome to it, but I am not going to wait around for a BB space to open up, if there are P&C spaces available.

Wait how long for?

Nope. Unless it’s on private land, it’s perfectly acceptable for someone with a blue badge to use a P&C space if there are no BB spaces left, or they are inaccessible to the person with the badge. BB spaces are legally enforceable, P&C spaces are not, they are a concession only. Might be a good time to mention the number of parents I’ve seen parking in a P&C space, leaving the child/children in the car.

It can also result in a fine of up to £1000 for abuse of the badge. The information provided by local authorities when issuing the badges has been updated to make it clearer that you can’t just rock up to a disabled space if you’re not leaving the car, or being collected/dropped off. I think the confusion arises because it’s perfectly legal for a designated driver to use a disabled persons’ motability car to run errands for them, but they cannot use the blue badge unless the disabled person is with them and leaving the vehicle.

Parent and child spaces are for babies & young children with their adult.
Not for disabled blue badge holders who can use the disabled bays or wait for one to become available.

I frequently use P&C spaces with a blue badge. My blue badge holder is well under the age of 12 and often the badge allows me to park for free so pop it in the windscreen.

If the disabled person can demonstrate that there were not enough spaces, or that they were not accessible enough to allow them to access goods and services, as per the the provision made by the Equality Act 2010, there is a potential claim for disability discrimination. Retailers and landowners know this but they rely on most people not knowing their rights.

BB spaces on private land don’t carry the same legal weight I agree, but under the Equality Act 2010 private service providers have a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, which includes providing and maintaining a certain number of disabled bays. While the official Blue Badge rules don't strictly apply, car parks enforce them to meet that legal requirement.

In most cases I’ve gone straight to the retailer, or where they don’t own the car park, the landowner - it’s pointless approaching the parking company, who will only tell you that you’ve breached their terms and have to pay the fine.

Denying access to goods and services because of disability is an offence under the Equality Act 2010, so if the lack of available disabled bays means that you are unable to access these services without breaching the terms and conditions, you can argue that the retailer/landowner failed to make reasonable adjustments. It’s my experience that if you explain this, most will cancel the ticket to avoid potential discrimination claims.

The shop had their rules and stuck to them so the disabled person got a fine. She should have used the correct space.

If you are going to park in a blue badge bay, the person named on the badge needs to leave the vehicle or be picked up (such as from a medical appointment at hospital).

If the person isn’t going to leave the vehicle, the vehicle needs to be parked elsewhere. My DM’s late cousin got fed up with people parking in the blue badge with the disabled person sitting in the car whilst an able person (usually an adult child) gets out and runs to the chemist, bank etc

As it’s one of the rules. You could have the blue badge revoked if found guilty

It really isn't simple and seems to vary as to who owns the land. In our local underground council owned car park the parent child spaces are near the lift and the there are more of them. There are fewer disabled bays and they are miles from the lift .
I can park in any bay nearer the lift with my blue badge, but I need the ability to open the door wide in order to get me and my rollator out!
So .... what to do? I do not want to finish up losing my blue badge!

I use them if I have my badge on display

I need to open the car door fully to be able to get in and out of the car and if the disabled bays are full P&C it has to be

I dont have a huge car - mini - not my fault parking bays in car parks are so tiny

It depends on where the P&C spaces are located. If they are nearer the entrance than the disabled spaces, then they have a point.

I think that reflects a lot worse on the supermarket!

I use P and C spaces when I am with DS at a local supermarket. The P and C spaces are directly outside the door. The disabled spaces are across the road with no clear walkway. When with a disabled 16 year old it’s much much safer to not have to navigate a road in a busy car park. You can’t carry a 16 year old like you can a baby!

Was the P&C parking closer?

A supermarket by us caused a shitstorm by fining a disabled person without a child for using a parent and child space. They enforce that their parent and child spaces are only for those with children. It’s private land, they can do what they like.

It turned out that there was disabled parking spaces available but the person had decided they wanted to use a parent and child space, so the disabled person looked a bit silly.

That’s in your area. Provision is patchy across the country because in densely populated areas there are never enough spaces. And the fact is that more and more blue badges are awarded for non physical disabilities based on PIP assessments, so actual walking ability isn’t checked in these cases, just assumed.

No, disabled spaces on private land are not subject to the same laws as council owned land. That is just a legal fact.
A fine not being enforced after appeal doesn’t change that.

And the traffic warden was correct. The reason people get fined for parking in blue badges without a valid badge is because they are enforceable by law. P&C spaces are a concession and not legally enforceable.

Yes, there is. Disabled parking is protected by law. P&C spaces are not. I was a disability outreach worker and supported quite a few clients in fighting fines levied by private parking companies who are only interested in the money. Not one of the cases we appealed were fined. It looks bad. Because it is.

Definitely not enough P&C spaces in the car parks we use.

There are not enough where I live, that is for sure. I will continue to use a p&c space if no bb spaces are available though.

Maybe it was a council car park? The rules seem to be different for supermarket and retail unit type car parks which are privately owned.