Blue Badge Application

They do that where I live as well, I had to go for an assessment but the assessor gave up partway through the set route as she could see how much I was struggling. Also she was in reception watching me as I approached the building, I think that was deliberate to see if I was exaggerating my walking difficulties!

Our GP wrote a letter. But where I live blue badge people will assess if you can walk a certain distance.

@Ilovetocrochet I think it’s not automatic you apply I think we got information with PIP letters too so you don’t need the badge for the exemption perhaps you qualify in multiple ways??? What I did read is you can use your hosepipe in a hosepipe ban!!! All so random.

Thanks, I’ll look into it

@Ilovetocrochet you can get exemption from your road tax. Government website will explain how to apply. There should also have been information in with the blue badge when you received it.

I am not aware of any tax exemptions that are given based on having a blue badge, please could you explain them in case they apply to me. Thanks

When I applied for ds, I included all assessments and any correspondence relating to his condition.

So buy some files or folders and start sorting the paperwork out. Meanwhile ask the falls team to write a synopsis of her care OR the GPS receptionist to print off her last few years notes, and take your mother to the DR to see if they can help with her declining health.
A blue badge isn’t just a parking pass it also gives you tax exemption and concessions on tolls and emission zone access. Of course they need to limit who they go to and you are best placed to find the evidence.

We asked the GP to write a letter, it was only a few sentences, basically saying he could only walk so many meters due to his conditions and listed out what he had been diagnosed with. I think they're just looking for something official as confirmation, they don't need loads of detail.

Ds got a blue badge when he was 3 with no issues, when it came to reapplying 3 years later I had read they now did a medical assessment at our local council. Which I fully expected him to have.

When I reapplied, I sent in his most recent reports that I had, (just hospital letters, things like that) and a covering letter explaining his difficulties and diagnosis’. I was very specific in this.

I also put the details of somebody they could contact (his headteacher at his special needs school) they gave him it without a medical assessment and didn’t contact his special school in the end either.

Letter from opticians to confirm visual impairment you referred to?

@MissMarplesNiece i think in addition to getting the information from the surgery DM needs to think about seeing the GP as there may be things she thinks are age related and should be endured that can be massively improved. Things like BP being managed, joint pain being managed, eyesight and hearing being optimised, OT can really help with small changes like raising chairs etc.

Sorry, you may have meant “describe your needs on your bad days rather than on your best days” but others on MN have said describe your needs on your worst day ever, without any suggestion that this should be part of their normal spectrum of experience rather than on a single bad day never experienced since.

The advice to complete forms describing bad, flare up or relapse days is commonplace from agencies and charities supporting those with disabilities and chronic conditions That’s a bit different from “on your hardest day” or, as I’ve seen recommended here, “on your worst day ever”.

If her eyesight is so poor, ask the surgery for a letter confirming this.
That should be all you need.

@MissMarplesNiece our surgery had a form to complete for dm to sign- one for on line access to records, one to speak to them re dm.
on line access is brilliant for chasing up things/ chapter and verse. And you can print out doc ie consultant letters.

So much rubbish on this thread , in our area they do assess you if you don’t provide sufficient paperwork and they do give out Blue Badges to old people who just can’t walk far - my MIL has one and aside from age related arthritis there is nothing wrong with her . @MissMarplesNiece go to the GP and ask for a print off of all her conditions , or do it on patient access if you have it and send that in . Also get your mum to tell the Blue badge team that they can speak to you and then you can deal with it for her .

Yes I've helped with 6 BB applications in the past few days and this is all I do. It's just a matter of showing if they are in pain or mobility poor.

I did this successfully for both my parents. I just sent all the appointment letters/hospital letters I could get my hands on, plus photocopies of their repeat prescriptions. They may have asked the GP for more information but I'm not aware of it. They did take several weeks.

@MereDintofPandiculation

I am commenting on my experience and the frequently reported phenomenon of people being loathe to describe themselves as infirm, unable and losing independence, and forgetting or in denial about the fact that when they tick that they can do something it is only because they have a lot of assistance.

The advice to complete forms describing bad, flare up or relapse days is commonplace from agencies and charities supporting those with disabilities and chronic conditions.

No need to accuse people of fraud.

It is also important to complete it as if you are having your hardest day. This would be fraudulent, like seeking a blue badge for yourself on the basis of when you had flu. On the other hand, you should fill it in on the basis of what happens when no help is available,which is what you describe in “Not tick off your abilities (are you able to do your household shopping? Tick YES with the silent disclaimer of 'when my daughter carries the bags, opens the car door, drives, manages my money, remembers why we have even come shopping and where we are, and lets me cling on to her arm'. Ask me how I know...)”

Do you have access to your dms medical records? Dm signed forms which gave the surgery permission to talk to me and also access to her on line records. This has all documents/ referral letters and timescales.
a lifesaver.

I got my first blue badge based on an assessment of my physical ability at a centre, I had to work a short distance with the assessor while chatting to her. We were supposed to walk around the building but she turned back at the first corner saying she had seen enough! She then took me to an interview room and asked me loads of questions from a computer screen which covered all aspects of my daily life and how I coped. I got the badge within a few days and it made a huge difference to my life.

After three years it came up for renewal and the process seems to have changed. I was contacted by an admin assistant at the council who had read my renewal form and told that I now needed updated evidence of medical interventions for my physical problems ( arthritis in knees) and was told to get a copy of my medical summary from the GP. This tool the secretary about five minutes to do, it’s simply a list of all my appointments at the GP, hospitals, physio etc going back many years, including just brief info about the visit. I was fascinated to read it!

I think this is all the OP needs to include with her mothers application - there was no charge for mine to be printed off.

It was enough though for my badge to be renewed for another three years - hopefully by then I will have has new knees so won’t need it anymore!