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Who is right regarding Ble Badges and Private Land
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verityboo
Posts: 1,017 Forumite
Theres some discussion on another forum about private parking here
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100063-a-disturbing-and-cautionary-tale/
What has me thinking are comments later on about blue badges and parking on private land, especially those by the user 'MarkSG' such as where he says
"The position of the law is that if you are disabled (or a dependent member of your family is disabled) and wish to avail yourself of the benefits of the blue badge scheme, it is your responsibility to obtain the badge and use it correctly. That applies both to parking on the highway and to parking on private land. It is no breach of the Equality Act to issue a parking ticket to someone who is acting in breach of these requirements.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100063-a-disturbing-and-cautionary-tale/page-2#entry1919225
The thing is that 'MarkSG' is from the link on his posts Mark Goodge who is a Conservative Councillor on Evesham Town Council. Is he correct in his posts?
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100063-a-disturbing-and-cautionary-tale/
What has me thinking are comments later on about blue badges and parking on private land, especially those by the user 'MarkSG' such as where he says
"The position of the law is that if you are disabled (or a dependent member of your family is disabled) and wish to avail yourself of the benefits of the blue badge scheme, it is your responsibility to obtain the badge and use it correctly. That applies both to parking on the highway and to parking on private land. It is no breach of the Equality Act to issue a parking ticket to someone who is acting in breach of these requirements.
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/100063-a-disturbing-and-cautionary-tale/page-2#entry1919225
The thing is that 'MarkSG' is from the link on his posts Mark Goodge who is a Conservative Councillor on Evesham Town Council. Is he correct in his posts?
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Comments
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No he isn't. No surprise there though, standard for a councillor, ours talk rubbish too.Je Suis Cecil.0
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You will struggle to find any mention of Blue Badges in the Equality Act 2010. Any person who has "protected characteristics" within the meaning of the Act is entitled to "reasonable adjustments" regardless of whether they hold a Blue Badge.
Whether the PPC knows that the person they are ticketing is disabled is irrelevant. The breach of the Equality Act occurred not when they issued the ticket but when they set out to systematically deny "reasonable adjustments" to people with "protected characteristics" on the wholly arbitrary ground that they don't have a Blue Badge.
I see that MarkSG mentions case law without saying what case law. I am aware of no case law concerning the Equality Act, Blue Badges and parking on private land.
In any case the Equality Act is a statute and as such trumps any case law.
Geez, and this guy is a councillor!Je suis Charlie.0 -
So his later comment
"Yes, but you're reading the Act in the absence of case law. Case law is quite clear on the matter: if you are entitled to a blue badge but don't display it in accordance with its terms and conditions, it is not a breach of the Equality Act to treat you as if you are not eligible for one."
is equally wrong regarding parking on private land?0 -
I think the 'case law' he is referring to might actually be a POPLA appeal where such a conclusion was made.Je Suis Cecil.0
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So his later comment
"Yes, but you're reading the Act in the absence of case law. Case law is quite clear on the matter: if you are entitled to a blue badge but don't display it in accordance with its terms and conditions, it is not a breach of the Equality Act to treat you as if you are not eligible for one."
is equally wrong regarding parking on private land?
Yep, dead wrong.Je suis Charlie.0 -
perzackerly.Je Suis Cecil.0
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Here's a summary, on the completely unbiased DMUK site:
Note how point 2 of the ruling directly contradicts point 3. I doubt a judge would make the same mistake.
http://www.disabledmotoring.org/news-and-features/news/post/9-blue-badge-rulingJe Suis Cecil.0 -
"By requiring the display of a valid badge, the operator has taken steps to ensure that only disabled drivers may use these parking spaces."
Yes but not all disabled drivers, only a subset of them! Talk about missing the point!
I suspect that piece is an outrageous distortion of the actual PoPLA ruling, given that PoPLA has always flatly refused to consider issues regarding the EA2010.Je suis Charlie.0 -
In any case the Equality Act is a statute and as such trumps any case law.
True, but statutes are not interpreted in a vacuum. Case law is often key in supporting any argument you wish to make regarding the effect of a statutory provision. As always, there are often contrary interpretations that can be made of the same provision.
Whether such case law exists is a different matter entirely. The only case I could find relating to parking that considered the Equality Act 2010 was Hamnett v Essex CC, but that is not relevant to the OP's question.
Looking at EA 2010 s20, which deals with the duty to make reasonable adjustments, subsection 4 seems most likely to apply to disabled spaces. s20(9)(c) suggests that the requirement in s20(4) can be discharged by providing a reasonable means of avoiding the disadvantage.
It is certainly arguable that the provision of disabled spaces subject to the requirement to display a blue badge offers a 'reasonable means of avoiding the disadvantage'.
There are issues with this argument, not least that these forums are rife with anecdotal evidence from disabled users who state they do not qualify for a blue badge but nevertheless suffer with mobility issues. These seem to me more to be issues with the blue badge scheme itself, than the requirement that such a badge be displayed.0
This discussion has been closed.
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