Parents stop parking in disabled spaces outside leisure centres

[OutForBreakfast]

I am so fed up of people with no blue badge parking outside leisure centres in disabled spaces while they pick up their child. I am sure in their mind they think they are only going to be a minute. But every week we have to wait until a space becomes available and so are late for an activity. Parking further away and walking there is not physically possible, which is why we have a blue badge.

And yes it is always parents doing this, every single time. They come strolling out of the centre with running kids and if I say anything they always claim to have a Blue Badge although they never have one on display. There are three spaces so it is not like this is just one family. So selfish.

Um ... the poster says she was 'hobbling,' not walking. Presumably she uses a mobility aid of some kind (and that might well not be the limit of her disabilities).

Disabled spaces are not just for people who can't walk.

If this was in response to my post which I presume it was since it was the only post after your previous one, my post wasn’t in relation to your post but to the poster who said those who automatically qualify for a badge still have to be assessed.

This is correct! I still had to ‘apply’ eg fill in the form online, send a photo and pay £10, wait for it to arrive etc, maybe pp meant it doesn’t just come in the post automatically? Even if you qualify, if you don’t want one you don’t have to ‘apply’ and receive a blue badge. Hope that makes sense, may of got totally the wrong end of the stick as I’m majorly sleep deprived due to the 4 month sleep regression we are currently going though lol!

Yes you have to apply and pay/photos etc. but you automatically qualify as per the link I posted. You don’t need to be assessed. Of course no one is forced to apply.

My apologies. There was a previous poster who had queried me saying that 3 was the earliest you could get a blue badge. I corrected to say automatically qualify and thar before it was at the discretion of the LA. I'm sorry I thought you were replying to me.

If you automatically qualify you don’t have to be assessed. You provide proof of automatic qualification with your application and don’t need to be assessed like those who don’t automatically qualify do.

@JustKeepBuilding I think you’re misunderstanding what was posted, you fill out an application form and provide information which is assessed (that could include benefits you receive, consultant letters, etc), and if that information fits the criteria your application passes the assessment of the application, you then send a photo and £10 and they send you a BB.

I get what you mean now thank you! The thread was a little slow to refresh for me so I see others had already explained also, thank you :)

Note 'hobbling'... Perhaps even using a mobility aid of some kind? She has a badge, they didn't. End of discussion.

@pocketvenuss I have a blue badge, on a good day I can walk half hour (but it would take my husband 5-10 minutes), but still if you see me on a good day you may think I don’t ‘deserve’ a blue badge, but on a bad day, being able to park close to the shop etc is invaluable for me

Poorly controlled epilepsy might mean you need easy access to a car that’s not too far away. Debilitating anxiety might mean you need a bolt hole. Total lack of road sense might mean crossing car parks puts you and others in danger….. none of these things mean you can’t physically walk from a to b.

Why do you feel the need to start the are you disabled enough game?

I’m not misunderstanding. Those who automatically qualify aren’t assessed.

Those who receive a blue badge at the discretion of the LA undergo assessment. However, those who automatically qualify aren’t assessed. They provide proof of automatic qualification (from PIP, DLA, CVI certificate, War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement or tariff 1 to 8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme) and automatically qualify for a blue badge. They don’t need a consultant’s letter, any other proof or an assessment.

If you look at the gov link I posted it specifically states “If you are applying without one of the benefits, the application will need to be assessed by the issuing local council.” i.e. the application won’t need to be assessed if the person automatically qualifies.

Yep, and things like photophobia too. My friend has it, and has a BB. She is not even on PIP, but was entitled to a badge anyway. She has to be as close as possible to the shop so she can avoid daylight.
She could walk for miles.. nothing wrong with her legs. Some people here would think she would not be allowed a BB at all.

@JustKeepBuilding as I tried to explain, applications are assessed as in read to see if you fit the criteria. How would the local council know what benefits you receive and have access to your scores for mobility unless you had applied and they’d checked/assessed your application against the criteria? Of course if you fit the criteria you will be eligible to complete the application process and pay, provide a photo and get you BB.

I did say of course you still have to apply/pay etc. Usually when people say a blue badge application is assessed they mean there is some kind of assessment of the application which is why the government page says those who don’t automatically qualify are assessed. If you don’t mean assessed but rather checked then that’s different, but as anyone can see from the government page I linked to and the quote I copied from it only those who don’t automatically qualify are assessed, those who automatically qualify aren’t assessed.

Yes I can see the confusion comes from me using the word “assessed” and you reading that as something more niche than its common definition. I meant read the form and seen the evidence of PIP scores or whatever and checked it qualified under the criteria. I’m sorry I did try to explain but obviously fuelled the misunderstanding. To me if you say someone gets something “automatically” it means they don’t have to do anything not they’ve fulfilled the criteria. I hope that’s clearer.

It wasn’t that I was using a different meaning to the common definition of assessed and automatic, I was using the words as they are used by the government in relation to blue badge applications. I can see if someone doesn’t know the government guidance that isn’t clear. It has its own language, a bit like many things related to being disabled.

From the government’s meaning, for blue badge applications automatic qualification doesn’t mean you don’t have to apply for it, just that you are definitely entitled to it without question. And being assessed for a blue badge means the application is looked at - often by a medical professional, questioned, further evidence may be required, a F2F or telephone appointment may be required and there’s no guarantee the application will be successful.

OK @JustKeepBuilding

Well I was out few days ago and all of the child bays were taken by old people that had no child with them! I was really annoyed. I had to make a point and give them a horrid look as it is extremely difficult for me to take out my baby's car seat in a regular bay.

Disabled spaces are sacrosanct

Parent and child spaces bollocks. You had a baby so what! I had 4 and 2 were twins. Far easier to park in the outer bays where it's quiet. It's a good opportunity to teach road sense. Here's a grip please take one

Autism etc are not mental health, they are neurological disorders. Having a diagnosis does not give automatic entitlement but some people are as severly impacted as any physical disabilty.

This. ^ Some (not all but some) mummies of young kids seem to think they are special and entitled, and should be allowed to take blue badge spaces, because they CBA to walk a few extra feet. Especially if there are a few more than the mummy spaces. (Which there usually aren't.) They think nothing of using the disabled persons facilities too.

Case in point. This thread........... FULL of entitled yummy mummies.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4729168-to-park-in-one-of-hundred-of-disabled-spaces-where-there-isnt-a-single-pc-space?page=1

@pocketvenuss

Why does someone who can walk for half an hour doing shopping need a
disabled space?

Quite possibly the rudest, most obnoxious, most ignorant, and most offensive post on this thread. NO-ONE owes you an explanation, as to why they have a blue badge, but can walk for half an hour. Fucking hell.

Maybe people aren't displaying them because they get stolen.
There is alot of blue badge theft about.