Blue Badge Application ID Requirements

missile

I want to renew blue badge and was surprised to find I now need to complete an 18 page form and provide:
1. Original recent letter for higher rate DLA
2. Certified passport photo
3. Certified copy of passport
4. Proof of address - access to voters role

Phoned DLA for an original letter and they want me to answer:
1. Name
2. Address
3. Date of Birth
4. Do you have any other benefit
5. DLA reference number
6. Bank account number and sort code

I do appreciate that there is a growing concern over those who are not entitled using a blue badge, but is it really necessary for such draconian multiple ID checks? It only makes life difficult for genuine applicants and will do very little to reduce abuse of the system :huh:


It would be easier to get a shotgun lincense. :rotfl: http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/goshooting/starting/126232/Shotgun_licence__shotgun_certificate_application.html

Richie-from-the-Boro

Yes it is essential, I've supported these moves for 2 or more years, without them you get substantially worse draconian 'hoops' to stop the fiddlers.

- posted many times over the last two years
- the old 'automatic' rule is now called without further assessment
- under the new rules there are two :

- - with further assessment
- - without further assessment

People who may be issued with a badge without further assessment are those who are more than two years old and fall within one or more of the following descriptions:

Receives the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance

or

Is registered blind (severely sight impaired); or

Receives a War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement (WPMS); or
Has been both awarded a lump sum benefit at tariffs 1-8 of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

see here

missile

I am not debating the assessment criteria.

You seem to have missed the point I was making: Why multiple proof of ID? One does not need provide this to open a bank account or apply for a shotgun license.

SandraScarlett

Sorry, but why do you need to phone for a letter regarding your DLA - or didn't you keep the one you received last April?

I'm confused over the number of pages you say are in the booklet, as I've just renewed DH's and there were only a few things to complete.

DH gets HRM and HRC, but had to supply his passport, a photo, the DLA letter and also either the Council Tax bill or a letter from a government department issued in the last 3 months.

As it's my name on the Council Tax bill, the only thing I could produce, issued in DH's name in the last 3 months, was his Winter Fuel Allowance letter, but these were all accepted as fine, photocopied and returned whilst we waited.

I consider the time necessary to supply this documentation is a small price to pay for ensuring only those that satisfy the criteria receive the Blue Badge.

xx

PS - just read your second post, and I don't have an answer as to why multiple proofs are necessary, other than that those who perhaps aren't genuine would consider it too much faffling about and not try to claim!

missile

I believe the requirements may vary dependending on which council. Please be advised, in my case:
The application form (not the booklet) is now 18 pages.
Plus, I had to supply:
A colour photocopy of my passport, verified as a true copy by a suitable person
A colour passport photo, verified as a true copy by a suitable person
Proof of address, I am on the voters role so that is sufficient
An original confirmation letter of DLA entitlement at higher rate. To obtain this I had to jump through more hoops as listed in post no 1.
None of these documents will be returned, so one must supply original / verified copies. Multiple proof of ID seems uneccessary IMHO, particularly when one is applying for renewal. One would not have to provide any ID when opening another account with one's bank.

I am not debating the assessment criteria and I do agree the badge is of great benefit to disabled people. My ONLY point was that multiple ID requirements seen way over the top when compared to that required to obtain a shotgun license.

I do not agree that making the application process difficult will be any deterent to abuse of the system. I understand most abuse occurs with forged / stolen badges and non disabled people who use a badge which was issued for use by a relative.

Richie-from-the-Boro

missile wrote: »

I am not debating the assessment criteria.

You seem to have missed the point I was making: Why multiple proof of ID? One does not need provide this to open a bank account or apply for a shotgun license.

HiYa missile, I didn't miss any thing, I'm more than pleased with 'draconian multiple ID checks' when asking the DWP to send out personal information on DLA.

On the Blue Badge application, its all done on / via the DOT GOV website portal. I've just been on the renewals side and it asks only :

- National Insurance Number
- or Child Reference Number for applicants under 16 years old
- Your driving licence number if you have a driving licence
- the number, expiry date and the name of the Blue Badge issuing local authority
- a passport style photograph
- you can even send in a digital upload photograph

All bog standard stuff as far as I can see, the only two new ones are the national insurance number & driving licence number to stop the disabled lending their badge to family etc. Are you sure you are not mistakenly looking at renewal and not first time missile ?

mazza111

I do think it's long overdue. However, I think they can be a bit arsey with the photographs. They've accepted my old mum's this time (3 years), but it was just a pic taken on a digi camera and printed. They want it to be as stringent as a passport pic. Unless you are going to pay someone to come to the house and to it or go for miles to a town that does it, you can't get a disabled person into a photo booth. Mum lives in a small village where there isn't anyone who does passport pictures. And that's the furthest she goes...

When it came to getting the DD's badge, all she needed was her letter stating she was in receipt of DLA, this also had my address on it (thank you RM), and her passport. This was just in October this year.

Richie-from-the-Boro

missile wrote: »

I do not agree that making the application process difficult will be any deterrent to abuse of the system. I understand most abuse occurs with forged / stolen badges and non disabled people who use a badge which was issued for use by a relative.

The only two additional items are your NI number & driving licence number, that doesn't sound a lot of extra work, its precisely this extra detail, small as it is, that makes it a more efficient system at reducing fraud, it will take a mere 30 seconds to write down.

Given that fraud is costing £46 million a year at the moment and 2.5 million badges exist to help the disabled, how would you do it in terms of legislation / cost / renewals and policing & prosecution in the particular ?

As for friends & relatives using the badge the most despicable part of that fraud is not only are they taking away parking spaces from disabled people, but they're leaving their relatives 'stuck at home' all day just so they can drive to work or go shopping and save themselves a few pennies in parking costs .. .. disgusting .. .. fine them and suspend or completely revoke the badge. That way decent law abiding Blue Badge holders will be able to do what the badge intended - park in a convenient place !

........... for others reading this and worrying about their badge........

The underlying eligibility rules of the Blue Badge scheme have not changed. Eligibility is not condition specific. Any person who does not receive the higher rate of mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance, or meet any of the other automatic qualifying criteria for a badge, may apply to their local authority to have their eligibility assessed. The governing Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000 provide that a badge may be issued to someone who has “a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking”. It is for the relevant local authority to decide if an applicant meets the eligibility criteria. A badge should not be issued to someone who does not meet the eligibility criteria, irrespective of whether the applicant previously held a badge.

missile

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

HiYa missile, I didn't miss any thing, I'm more than pleased with 'draconian multiple ID checks' when asking the DWP to send out personal information on DLA.

On the Blue Badge application, its all done on / via the DOT GOV website portal. I've just been on the renewals side and it asks only :

- National Insurance Number
- or Child Reference Number for applicants under 16 years old
- Your driving licence number if you have a driving licence
- the number, expiry date and the name of the Blue Badge issuing local authority
- a passport style photograph
- you can even send in a digital upload photograph

All bog standard stuff as far as I can see, the only two new ones are the national insurance number & driving licence number to stop the disabled lending their badge to family etc. Are you sure you are not mistakenly looking at renewal and not first time missile ?

It is helpful when you stick to the subject, thanks
One can complete the form online, but one still needs to submit the form with multiple forms of ID, a passport photo and letter from DLA, which all need to be endorsed as certified copies by a suitable person. My point is this is OTT and more onerous than required when applying for a shotgun license.

Are you sure you are not mistakenly looking at renewal and not first time missile?

Have you actualy ever applied? The form is the same for new and renewal. One of the questions asked is "have you had a badge before?"

In February 2011 the Government announced major reforms to the Blue Badge scheme. The changes came into force from 1
st January 2012 when a new application process was implemented along with a new style badge and the introduction of a national database.
The application process is the same for both new applicants and for current holders whose Blue Badge is due to expire.

missile

Richie-from-the-Boro wrote: »

The only two additional items are ....
.

You are incorrect and please stick to the subject or post you own thread :T

missile

mazza111 wrote: »

.... I think they can be a bit arsey with the photographs....

Yes, it is difficult for disabled people to access a photo booth and there appear to be no concessions for those who do not have a friend with a digital camera. A professional photographer would be expensive.

I do appreciate the need to identify the badge holder, but if one was so inclined it would be easy to falsify the photo and anyone with a scanner could falsify the ID documents. Unlike passport applications, they do not require a supplementary statement to identify the suitable person verifying these, nor do they check who the signatory is. Micky Mouse could sign and state he was a doctor or whatever.