How high is the threshold for blue badges?

[tobyj]

DM has had arthritis for many years, but in the last few months she's finding it harder and harder to walk far. She can still walk - but she's increasingly slow and unsteady, and it's now starting to affect her decisions (eg she didn't want to come to an event because the nearest place to park is maybe 300 yards away, and she'd struggle to walk there and back). I looked at the guidelines for blue badges, as I thought that might help, and the majority of the things on the list don't apply to her, but one of them just says something like 'if you find walking very difficult due to pain'. I've no idea what the definition of 'very difficult' would be, and whether there would be any point in her applying.

(NB she also has cognitive decline and anxiety, which doesn't help matters. She doesn't drive herself any more, so it would be a badge for my dad's car.)

Does anyone have experience?

29 points under general living and 12 under mobility but my council will only issue blue badges if you can't walk 20 metres. He got all his 12 points on not being able to plan a journey independently. I appealed to council but that got rejected too. It's frustrating because another child who is nowhere near as bad as him at his previous school got one from his council (different county) for having 12 points for not being able to plan a journey alone. Each council interprets rules differently.

My DH had qualified for a Blue Badge three times before but the last time it needed renewing it took four months as our council kept rejecting his applications even though his condition had not changed.
Our doctors will not send medical information unless the council request it and our council will not ask the doctors for anything but if the surgery send it to them they will accept it.
In the end a member of staff at the surgery supplied a Patient Summary and it was accepted.
It needs renewing next year and I am already not looking forward to it.

All so so useful, thank you.

We got one recently for MIL. We got a full medical history from the GP and used it to fill the form in ourselves. MIL has mobility issues and dementia. Blue badge awarded and received within about four weeks.

Apply! We got one for my father a few years ago. We asked the GP for a letter in support (which was a two line description of his condition - he has arthritis). Submitted that, his prescription and attendance allowance letter, and it went through.

When completing the form, use the same words as on the GPs letter to describe the medical condition, then explain the daily implications of that. Good luck! And don’t forget it needs renewing!

I believe supporting evidence must be from consultants not GPs anymore.

I can empathise with that! For several years my mum didn't apply for Attendance Allowance because she 'didn't like to ask'. This was despite really needing it! I eventually printed off the forms and helped her fill them in.

My mum was of the view that there's 'always someone worse off' which is obviously true but that doesn't mean you don't apply for things you're entitled to receive.

I applied for a blue badge for my late MIL this time last year. Her mobility was less of a problem than the need for supervision ( due to rapidly deteriorating vascular dementia). She had a lot of pain, but would ignore it and power through, and she could probably walk further than I can. Pretty sure I wouldn't qualify, even though being without one restricts the places I can visit. Anyway, hers was issued without me needing to ask for corroboration from any of the doctors who'd cared for her.