Application for a Blue Badge has been refused - is there any point appealing?

[TigOEUFeet]

DH is currently in hospital recovering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an autoimmune disorder which has seriously affected his mobility due to damage to his peripheral nervous system.

Currently he can only walk a few steps with the aid of a frame.

He will get better as his nerves heal but this will take months.

He'll be able to come home when he can safely move around the house unsupervised, which will hopefully be in the next two or three weeks. However at this point he won't be able to drive or to walk far, he will probably have sticks to walk short distances and a wheelchair for longer trips.

His condition has also left him with CFS.

I applied for a blue badge in anticipation of his return home, but have been refused on the grounds that he doesn't receive the higher mobility component of DLA.

We don't need DLA, he is signed off work on full pay and should be well enough to return to work and at least do the desk based elements of his job before the paid sick leave period expires. We shouldn't incur any expenses relating to his condition as he will improve over time.

That doesn't help us now though. As per the thread title, is there any point appealing? We don't meet the criteria as applied to our case but we could really do with a blue badge even if it's just for a year until he's completely mended.

Any advice/experience?

Thanks :)

bump

Bumpity bump

It's automatic entitlement with high rate mobility, but discretionary without. Do you know their rules?

Derbyshire county council have this

Discretionary criteria
If you do not qualify under the automatic criteria you may be able to apply under the discretionary criteria. You may qualify under the discretionary criteria:

if your disability is permanent and substantial and causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking;

if you drive regularly, have a severe disability in both arms and are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating all or some types of parking metre.
Not covered by the scheme
The scheme is only intended for very severely disabled people and does not allow for badges to be issued:

if you have a temporary disability such as a broken leg or are awaiting a hip replacement;

if you suffer from a psychological disorder, unless your condition causes very severe difficulty in walking;

if your problem is with carrying shopping, etc;

if your condition is intermittent and does not continuously severely restrict your ability to walk.

---------

So, it may be that he wouldn't qualify. Find out your LA discretionary criteria

I wouldn't qualify if it were just because of the DLA element. I survive without that, but still need the blue badge to help me on my day to day living - I can't walk far outside without my trusty Sholley! However I discussed my need with my GP and he was the one who, I assume, supported my application.

Is it worth discussing this with your DH's medics, either in hospital or at the surgery? I would assume that they would be able to give you some advise about how it works; alternatively contact the people who have refused the application and ask why - they're human (usually!) after all, and they may be able to help.

Thanks all,

I've looked into the criteria and his condition needs to be permanent in order to qualify. They don't issue temporary badges in Lincolnshire.

DH and I are attending a meeting with his doctors/nurses/physios next week to review his progress and discuss where he needs to be before he can come home - I'll bring it up then, an ideal opportunity

I must say I think it's very shortsighted not to issue temporary badges. His mobility is going to be severely impaired, albeit slowly improving, for some time. I'm not too bothered about being closer to shops etc but we're going to need space around the car to get him in and out. Fine if the dd's are with us and there's a p&t space available but not so good if we're on our own.

Has he informed DVLC about his health condition? Are they still happy for him to have a driving licence or is it suspended?

Regarding getting some room around the car so you can get the wheelchair out, you can get stickers that warn people not to park too near.

Regarding DLA, it's not income or work related, he will quality if he has a permanent / long-term problem with mobility or activities of daily living.

If he needs taxis to work in the short term he can apply under the Access to Work scheme.

hi, they don't tend to issue temporary badges, but not have DLA, should not stop u from getting a b/b.

i had a b/b, before i got DLA.

glad ur getting help from the right places and hope u get good news. x

Your DH probably won't qualify as his condition isn't seen as being permanent or very long-term.

You can get suitable stickers for the car from PIE (public information exchange) which sells other blue badge products.

I'm glad to hear that your DH is recovering well.