Is applying for a blue badge really that difficult??

[AuntieBiotics]

Inlaws are being very very difficult and intransigent about applying for a Blue Badge. Both are 82. MIL has osteoporosis, fell last year and broke her hip. Very little vision in one eye and lacking in confidence when walking. FIL the same age and has COPD.

We suggested they apply for a blue badge - they don't go anywhere much other than the supermarket and the doctor/hospital but it would make things so much easier parking at the door and FIL not having to leave MIL while he parks. My mum is younger (by a year) and has a blue badge - she was awarded it while waiting for a hip replacement but it was not me who did the application, it was my brother.

Inlaws say it's too hard, too many questions, have to be on benefits (I know this is rubbish), have to provide medical notes, get a letter from the GP. And besides, Marjory next door / the hairdresser's cousin / some man in the GP's waiting room applied and was turned down as not eligible and are far more disabled.

Re not applying for Attendance Allowance, some elderly people are frightened that if anyone in “authority” finds out they have impairments then they’ll be deemed incapable of independent living and packed off to a care home!

Sometimes they just need a bit of reassurance that the AA people aren’t judging them and they certainly won’t be contacting social services or anything like that. It’s purely a question of do you qualify for extra money based on your various health needs, literally does your application form score enough points. No one will be inspecting bank accounts or booking them into nursing homes.

If you frame it that the government like to pay it because it’s (much!) cheaper than actually providing care they might agree to apply.

Easy to do - I needed a letter from the dr who did it for free. £10 fee to apply.

(Although my mom found the process hard and did some ranting about it … it really wasn’t (same council)

lol I’m a lot younger than 55!

I did DF's renewal which was complicated by the fact that he had changed local authorities by moving next door to me. It was all done online. The southern (where I am) LA asked for all sorts of medical information BUT didn't ask if it was a renewal. In exasperation, I phoned them and asked why we needed all this information when he already had a badge, but it was about to expire. That was the "unlocking" moment. The lady asked me to photograph both sides of the badge and send them in - took 5 minutes. An email came a few minutes later saying it was approved and we needed to pay the £10. We did that immediately and the badge came less than a week later.

Now I am about to apply for AA. DF doesn't need a lot of help a lot of the time, but on bad days, he needs quite a bit. As others have said, it's a gateway benefit and will make applying for other things easier.

OP, when we wanted MiL to do things that she was being stubborn about, we used to ask my DF to write a letter to us telling us about some "hack" he had found. At the end he would always write "tell MiL about it - I wish I had known sooner". DF was at least a decade younger than MiL but she trusted him more than us. We would read the letter and she would go quiet and thoughtful then say "well I suppose if X thinks it's a good idea, I'll do it". I wish I'd thought of it sooner! Is there someone like that who your ILs might trust?

I did it on behalf of my mother in law last year. My husband got her to provide all the required medical info for me to include and a photo. Took me a wee while to get it all completed and submitted, and it then took a month or two if I recall correctly, but was approved no problem.