Help to appeal blue badge decision

coastertoaster · 13 November 2019 at 10:51AM

Got notified this morning that an application for my daughter to get a blue badge has been denied. In a nutshell my daughter (20 years) has a range of disabilities and with the Aug 2019 changes was one who may get a blue badge due to planning a journey and being a risk to herself.

She has to be accompanied everywhere on trips due to her conditions as if not then she would be a risk. I feel this is the reason why it has been declined as she is accompanied.

If we did not take her everywhere she would not go out, or if she travelled on her own she would be a risk to herself and others.

Any advice please.

cantcope · 13 November 2019 at 3:26PM

Might be worth giving them a call to find out why. If she is accompanied at all times is there a reason she still needs the blue badge?
How would the badge eliminate the risk? I guess that's probably what they didnt determine but as before best to call and ask.

Nannytone · 14 November 2019 at 4:14PM

coastertoaster wrote: »

Got notified this morning that an application for my daughter to get a blue badge has been denied. In a nutshell my daughter (20 years) has a range of disabilities and with the Aug 2019 changes was one who may get a blue badge due to planning a journey and being a risk to herself.

She has to be accompanied everywhere on trips due to her conditions as if not then she would be a risk. I feel this is the reason why it has been declined as she is accompanied.

If we did not take her everywhere she would not go out, or if she travelled on her own she would be a risk to herself and others.

Any advice please.

I am blind and all blind and partially sighted people are automatically entitled to a blue badge so it obviously has nothing to do with her being accompanied. After a while I don't know any blind person that drives a car

coastertoaster · 15 November 2019 at 8:00PM

That's a point. I understand some might say ok if she is with some one then she is not a risk, but someone being with her greatly reduced her being a risk to others as we know how to calm her down quickly when she has a 'meltdown'.
It's down to having to plan every trip meticulously so to minimise the distress to her. If we were to go "here you go bye go on your own," heaven help the person who sits in the chair she wants to sit on. Silly me for leaving the house with her and driving to go through certain lights at certain times in a morning so we can park in a certain place as if not it will cause her a melt down.

I think I am going to appeal

Spoonie_Turtle · 15 November 2019 at 9:29PM

You need to show that she falls into one of these categories:

- Experience very considerable difficulty whilst walking, which may include very considerable psychological distress; or

- Be at risk of serious harm when walking; or pose, when walking, a risk of serious harm to any other person.

So it's not enough that she needs to be accompanied, you have to explain exactly *why* she falls into one of those categories (thus leading to her needing to be accompanied anyway). [To us folk who use our common sense it sounds pretty obvious that she does, I'm not disputing that at all.]

The basis for PIP descriptors and the equivalent Blue Badge assessment is reliably, safely, in a timely manner, to an acceptable standard. So if she can't get 20m or 50m on her own because she has a meltdown and/or gets distracted or whatever, that should be sufficient to be entitled to a Blue Badge. Part of it is to reduce the risk of harm to people, and to enable them to carry out 'normal' activities they otherwise wouldn't.

See if you can get hold of your council's guidance for assessors, if not then another council's, just to see what kind of language they use and how they look at the assessments. It was eye-opening for me!

Does she claim PIP or DLA, by the way? Was she awarded anything under the mobility descriptors?

elsien · 15 November 2019 at 9:39PM

There are many people with learning disabilities who need to be accompanied while out who are perfectly capable of getting a bus or walking for miles, with that support. They do not need a blue badge.

I think you need to evidence over and above this what the specific difficulties are with your daughter and what the higher risks are - the meltdowns, etc. Are there any involved professionals who can give supporting evidence?

Is there anything in here which might help?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=6042589&highlight=blue+badge&page=2

coastertoaster · 16 November 2019 at 10:14AM

Yes she gets PIP. When she got DLA she got the lower rate for mobility but when it changed over to PIP she was awarded 6 points in total based at the time on planning and handling journeys. This assessment was last done 4 years ago when she was 16, in order for the change of DLA /PIP to happen.
When she was 19 she had a letter as if I recall they were reassessing the mobility section due to changes and they said it was to stay the same but I could appeal if I wanted to. I remember phoning as her circumstances had changed dramatically and they said my options were for her to stay as it was, or have her reassessed. She had just gone through the work capability assessment and due to all her conditions results in a series of major meltdowns, and in a nutshell about 2 months of getting her 'calm' again. So understandably we were advised by the Dr to keep it as it was for her well being.

She can not walk 50m by herself on an unplanned journey without having a meltdown. The scenario with her is if we were to say go shopping and we could not park on the same car park we have to she has an emotional melt down. On a good day i can bring her out 8f it in a short amount of time, on a bad day it can be days.

Thanks for the links etc will look into them.

Spoonie_Turtle · 16 November 2019 at 2:37PM

In that case definitely have a look at the PIP descriptors and how they assess mobility (walking and journeys) because the issues covered are what they look at for a Blue Badge - what you write for an appeal would most likely be pretty much the work done for the mobility part of any future PIP application.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria#mobility-activities

https://pipinfo.net/activities/planning-and-following-journeys
https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably

If she would be awarded descriptor F, the descriptor in itself would not automatically qualify for her a Blue Badge, but the number of points on a PIP award for that descriptor would automatically qualify her in Scotland or Wales ...

This puts the categories fairly simply
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-can-i-get-one/can-i-get-a-blue-badge#people-who-may-get-a-blue-badge

It's a lot of info, but quite possibly worth it if you can successfully appeal

leylie · 16 November 2019 at 4:26PM

Just to clarify, Sight Impaired/Partially Sighted Registration does NOT give entitlement for a Blue Badge.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-can-i-get-one/can-i-get-a-blue-badge

Nannytone wrote: »

I am blind and all blind and partially sighted people are automatically entitled to a blue badge so it obviously has nothing to do with her being accompanied. After a while I don't know any blind person that drives a car

Help to appeal blue badge decision

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