to think that an increasing number of people with disabilities

[Unwind]

is the elephant in the room

articles like this one:

www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/8321899/The-blue-badge-of-the-disabled-fails-those-who-need-it-most.html

Seem to assume that more blue badges etc are being given out because benefits are being extended more widely, without considering whether there are simply increasing numbers of people who qualify.

One of the realities of medical advances is that people are surviving who otherwise might not have. That means more in need of support. So to keep the same level of benefits going, we need to keep allocating more resources to those most in need.

LessNarkyPuffin - the orange badges stopped a few years ago, and now there are blue badges instead. They are valid across Europe.

Ah. My elderly grandad had an orange badge because he was in his 90s and had trouble walking very far. It meant my mother could use it when she took him to doctors appointments etc.

the trouble with all this is a 'grassing culture'

like little german children spying on their parents [ i didn't invoke godwins law!]

if someone claims disability benefit, then there should be the correct systems in place to assess it. whether that be the place you claim it from to the doctors who determine it.

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you see the trouble i have with THIS is the same trouble i have with the fake benefit claimant - has - got - a jag - and - goes on holiday - to bermuda...bollocks.

the trouble is that the people who gob shyte about this stuff are usually regurgatating some red top low brow bollocks they read at a greasy spoon.

the same people who think that all immigrants take our jobs

and the problem is this the focus is on the person THE PERSON not the govt systems.

if you think the lady down the road is putting it on with her walking stick, getting her 'free' car and AAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLL THOSE BENEFITS then a couple of things are happening

you are stupid becuase you are being duped, blame your govt for ineffectual systems, cost cutting and poor management

you are reading shite news papers

Most of the comments under the Torygraph article confirm Custy to be absolutely right.

I don't think the peoblem is entirely down to the number of blue badges issued - you need to get certain benefits (like DLA) which is not easy or have an interview with an assessment team to get one. The problem is more down to the fact that they are misused, altered and forged. There is a fine of up to £1000 for misuse but apparently it is rare that anyone is caught. The way forward is to make it easier to catch those who are abusing the system

Sorry Abr1de; of course I meant devolution, bit of a dim moment there.

And yes Custy is right but not just that: there's something really horrid in the way that the focus from those who do cheat switches negativity to the genuinely disabled- often vulnerable anyway- rather than realising that hey! If they're not disabled they are NT right? So rather than the pasted poster at our autism assessment centre decrying false claims, and all the horrible comments one sees under news articles online about disability, target the right bloody group at least!.

I agree that getting rid of forgeries and use of deceased people's should be an easy first place to start to clear this up.

I do think that people who have the badges could take some reponsibility here so that they help each other. Some people are saying that they don't need one every day - do they still use it on their good days? Some people are saying they don't need to be near to the shops, just the extra space, well do they ever park on the end of a row instead if there are spaces there? Some people are saying they need to be near the shops but don't need an extra large space, well if there are nearby spaces that aren't marked disabled do they use those if they are free? Maybe some people can honestly answer yes to all that but I don't believe that is true for the majority of blue badge holders. Certainly it wasn't true when mum had one for my nan she just made a bee line for the marked spaces.

When my Nan had one she hobbled from car to shop then mum had to ask for a chair for her and she waited on it whilst mum shopped. I do think that if people can make a long shopping trip then they can probably walk from the car to the shop as that part of the walking is such a small percentage of the overall whole of walking. I know that sounds harsh but it just means that I think they could be prioritised if there are not enough spaces, which I think is what Boris was saying.

As an aside, my mum has recently been awarded DLA and given the bad press we were amazed at how straightforward it was, we didn't have to supply any medical evidence, just details of who she was seeing. I don't know if they were contacted for proof. (However SS have since said she should have had a higher award so maybe she would have got a higher award straightaway if we had put more in). I wonder if DLA is harder to get awarded for children.

When DH was less affected than he is now, he didn't use a disabled bay when there was a suitable ordinary space handy, only when he actually needed it. As time has passed, that's no longer an option as he now needs both the close location and the extra space to get in and out of the car.

I don't think there will be many people who are using their badge to park close to the shop, but are fine to do a long shopping trip, though I guess you might think my DH is more capable than he really is if you see him in Tesco, as having the trolley to lean on makes a big difference.

I would imagine (but maybe I'm naive?) that people who have an intermittent disability would be very aware of the fact that others need the spaces, and not take one when they don't feel they need it.

DLA can be hit and miss, I know some fibromites who got it first attempt, others who are clearly very sick and in need of it who have had to apply and appeal countless times. It's luck of the draw sometimes - lots of people who are initially rejected are later awarded when they appeal. CAB and DIAL will help people to fill in the forms to make sure they're putting enough info etc down.

I don't have a car but can honestly say I would only use a BB if I had one on bad days. Because on good days I relish in being able to walk further and actually get some exercise. Since I've been sick weight has been so much harder to shift, I'm not a sporty type but I do enjoy walks and really miss them. I'm sure lots of people with fluctuating conditions enjoy their good days - only problem is if you overdo it on those days you suffer the next. Yesterday I spent 45 mins out the house, walking to local shops and back, washed some dishes, enjoyed valentine's day and today I'm in a lot more pain than I was yesterday and am shattered. So even on good days I can understand why some would use their BB if it would save a spoon for tomorrow. I think that's perfectly fair. For me I could cope with the extra walk, for others it could use up a lot of valuable energy for another day.

Although there are notable exclusions, IME the disability community as sucha s it exists tends to be more understanding about spaces etc.

WRT to distance to shops etc Nan had a maximum distance she could walk before getting exhausted (heart condition, killed her eventually) and I think that is common; I suspect being stuck at hone would have been damaging both to her and my Grandad (who tries to keep mobile and is still fit at 90) andf Grandad was always too scared to elave her in case she collapsed at home.

Our local council award blue badges only if you are receiving high rate mobility allowance, proving that you need a significantly high level of support to be mobile, or you are unable to walk more than a few feet unaided. My dd is entitled due to her severe autism, she can become overwhelmed at the drop of a hat due to sensory difficulties, some of which are hard to predict, so difficult to avoid.

She has no sense of danger, so it's more than possible she could do a runner across the car park, into the path of moving cars, it's also possible that I could catch up to her and she will drop to the ground, completely blocking the road and causing mayhem. It's also a common occurance that she has to leave, like, NOW, so we have to be able to hurry back to the car pronto before she has a complete meltdown and starts attacking me, screaming, dropping to the floor and becoming incredibly distressed. She can be a danger to herself and others at the drop of a hat, and thus she is entitled to her mobility allowance, and her blue badge.

I wouldn't DREAM of using the badge when she isn't with me, simply because it pisses me off so much when I can't access disabled spaces when we need them, it's those people we need to clamp down on, not the genuinely disabled, who seem to be getting pitched against each other in this stupid article.

In my parents village it's rarer to see a car parked in a disabled spot with a blue badge displayed than it is to see one with no blue badge. Unfortunately people seem to think it's ok to park there when they don't have a blue badge - I agree - this is what needs to be stopped, rather than subjecting disabled people with genuine badges to scrutiny. A scary number of DM readers think all blue badges and disabled parking spaces should be abolished because disabled people always want to be 'treated equally' amnd therefore should receive no help...

A scary number of DM readers are cunts! Equality is about being able to do the same things as 'normal' people, without help they will never be equal. I suppose they are the same people who say ESOL courses should be scrapped in one breath, then the next minute are complaining because 'they should learn English'.

"Treated equally" ought to mean levelling the playing field, not treating people the same. But plenty of people think anything that someone else has but they aren't eligible for must be "unfair" on principle.

DH has DLA mobility component and a blue badge. The combination means that he can hold down a full-time job, and do things like shop for food and clothes for himself. Which means in turn that I can also work. Overall, the country gains in terms of us working and paying taxes, rather than having to be on benefits. Taking away those things might not instantly put us on the breadline (I accept we're in a much better position than many), but the probabilities would be worse, and very much worse for lots of families where there is a person with a disability. The net cost of removing these kinds of things is far more than the cost of providing them.

"In fact, if I was planning a degree course for town planners, I would ensure that for at at least one term, the student would have to spend all their time in a wheelchair or pushing a pushchair!"

What a great idea, I love it :)

I saw a sign today at the hospital carpark that said that cars with disabled passes still had to pay parking charges!

I hadn't ever really given it much thought, but I always presumed that they would not have to pay. It seems very unfair to make people with mobility difficulties pay to go to the hospital.

Well really I think it's unfair to make anyone pay for hospital car parking, but it seems particularly unfair for people with disabilities.

Spidoodly lots of LAs are or have scrapped free disbaled parking altogether.

For us the best thing about having a badge would be free brige tolls; it's enough of a shame that the only babysitter we can use (aprt from the formal repsite one whom we also pay) is 50 miles away (Mum), even harder when we have to pay £6.50 on top of petrol just to get there- often for such things as to cover a GP appointment or in two weeks becuase DH and I have exams at the same time.

Really?

Welcome to austerity Britain :(