To think this rule is utterly ridiculous?

[KermitlovesKeyLimePie]

Hi All,

DS17 has been entitled to a Blue Badge parking badge since he was first eligible aged 3. This was awarded without question based on the fact that he was receiving the highest rate of both mobility and care components via DLA.

When he turned 16 he was transferred onto PIP without question and the award remained exactly the same as he has always received.

The rules now state that to obtain a badge automatically if you are on PIP (not our choice - everyone is being moved to this eventually) you have to score 10 points on the section where it says that he is disabled enough to cause harm to himself and others.

DS scores 12 - the highest level awarded.

However the rules are that it has to be exactly 10 points.

I just cannot get my head around this, are they saying that he is too disabled to get a badge?

Surely it should be 10 or more?

If anyone out there is able to explain this I would be very grateful as I am tearing my hair out. As if life isn't hard enough without having to go through all this crap!

TIA for any responses.

Something in the information you have been given is wrong. I have just renewed mine and I have 12 points so you should be fine.
From the .gov site:
if you receive a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) because you can’t walk more than 50 metres (a score of 8 points or more under the ‘moving around’ activity of the mobility component)

@goodnessidontknow Thanks for the reply.

He doesn't score high enough under the moving around section, which as you so rightly say does state "8 or more points".

We are applying on the basis of the section below that which alludes to his physical safety. In that section it says that to automatically receive the badge "you must receive 10 points".

Unlike the moving around section where it says "8 or more" there is no "10 or more" under that bit.

It has to be exactly 10!

Why if he is 2 points more disabled than they require is it not awarded? That's what is really giving me the rage.

We didn't qualify on the 8 points section but you can still get one directly from the council if they cannot drive for medical reasons

(Dd has seizures which prevents driving)

@gogohmm Thank you for your reply.

We know that he is eligible and will eventually be awarded it once we receive the letter we have requested from our GP.

We are having to pay £25 for that which is making me so angry as we shouldn't have to pay anything when he is clearly eligible under the stupid point rule.

I almost feel like ringing up the PIP people and asking them to knock 2 points off his award as he is clearly considered too disabled. Then he would get it automatically.

It does sound daft. Have you tried calling them or writing to them before asking GP to write a letter?

Hi @Meraas

I've done both several times and not one person can give me an answer as to why the extra 2 points makes him ineligible.

One of the reasons I posted on here, apart from having a rant at the sheer absurdity of it, was in the hope that maybe a Mner worked at the DWP and could explain it to me 🤔

I don't understand what the issue is - is this an automated online form which isn't giving you options?

What do the council say when you speak to them?

I've just checked the online service and it goes up to 12 points.

www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge

In which case you will stand a better chance with a specific thread title “Blue Badge Points System” or something.

Also, which council are the awarding body for you?

I have heard of this before. This is the explanation I have seen previously:

"The reason why 10 points is better than 12 for planning a journey is in the definition. 10 points is awarded for psychological distress about undertaking a journey, WITHOUT there necessarily being an accompanying carer. 12 points is awarded if a carer MUST accompany the client. In the latter case, because a carer is with the client they are deemed to be safer out in the community and the blue badge is thus unnecessary."

Also this "Justin Tomlinson minister for disabled people is saying that they decided on 10 points as those with 12 may be able to walk and not suffer from psychological distress. It is ridiculous. It’s like getting 90% in an exam and saying you’ve failed as you haven’t got 70%"

Hi @GetOffTheRoof Thanks for your replies.

It is Cheshire East.

The online form that you posted only shows the "moving around" section. As I explained upthread, he is not eligible under that section.

There is a section after that which states that he would be automatically eligible if he has been awarded EXACTLY 10 points. Not 12 which he has and is classed as the highest rate of disability for that section.

Every time I have spoken and emailed the council not one person can explain why the extra 2 points makes him ineligible, they just keep parroting that it has to be exactly 10.

You shouldn't be paying anymore than £10 for a blue badge (£20) in Scotland. Why is it £25? The government themselves say it should cost no more than £10. If they are charging you £25 they are breaking the law.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/help-for-disabled-travellers1/blue-badge-scheme/applying-for-a-blue-badge/

There has always been a charge, I've been eligible for over 30 years and always paid a nominal fee regardless of the fact I received high rate mobility DLA/PIP.

I'm involved with a charity that supports people with disabilities and I have never heard of the exactly 10 points on a specific question, it's always been tallied over all the mobility issues. The person you spoke to seems to have given you incorrect information. I would be telling them you will lodge a claim with the Ombudsman if they keep insisting the charge is £25.

@definitelylettuce Ah! Now we are getting somewhere. Surely the Council should have that info though when denying the application.

As for the criteria, DS is just as much danger to himself and others even with a Carer or without as my GP has agreed to state.

Your exam analogy is very apt.

Looking at their website, I would appeal the decision on the basis of disability discrimination.

@IheartJKRowling The £25 fee is what I am having to pay my GP to write a letter to state that DS is eligible.

The council charge for the badge, is as you correctly state £10.

It's not the blue badge that is costing that much. As I read it the OP is having to apply via her council for an assessment and she is submitting a doctors letter. It's the doctors letter that is £25.

@KermitlovesKeyLimePie I'm CEast too. Email your councillor and get them to ask about the rules. Also email your MP with the same question and ask why? - hopefully you'll get a decent response - and it might make renewal easier in the future. 🤞

This government seems to want to make life as difficult as possible for disabled people and their carers. What a ridiculous rule.

Thank you! I read it as she was being charged £25 for the actual badge not the assessment.

@HannahSternDefoe Already done and awaiting responses from both local councillor and MP.

It's just so frustrating. We can afford the £25 but so many others who must be in this position might not be able to, not to mention the fact that I am able to advocate for my Son, when again so many others may not have someone fighting their corner.

Also, as if GP's are not under enough strain at the moment without having to deal with what should be a simple issue.

As, you say, I hope by kicking up a fuss this time around will make it easier in the future, not only for our family but for those who have no voice.

I applied for a blue badge for DS when the new rules came in a couple of years ago.

My DS isn’t automatically eligible so I had to fill in an application form and send in paperwork- in his case his EHCP and some hospital letters. I didn’t need to pay for a GP letter.

But it's not for moving around part. There's another part for those of us who can put one foot in front of the other but need someone with us to ensure we get from A to B safely.

I too am in the situation where I had to get a letter from my GP despite scoring 12 points on the following and planning a journey part. My council when asked, just said they were following the rules.

Yet, if I was in Wales or Scotland, I wouldn't have to get evidence that I have to pay for as 12 points would be fine.

Sounds like they are basically saying if you need someone with you at all times, then there's no benefit to a blue badge specifically for anxiety when going out alone. It's not so much a linear scale for that purpose but a set of numbered categories.
Which makes perfect sense, but it sounds like there are other reasons it is necessary so you might be better to press them on those things instead. Or the GP letter as a last resort despite the waste caused!
Good luck, you just wish things would go smoothly.