Blue badge permit ‘shocking disparity’ revealed
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Published
7 January 2021
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Image source, Getty Images
By Alex Homer & Ollie Sirrell
BBC Shared Data Unit & the Local Democracy Reporting Service
People with non-visible disabilities such as autism or Parkinson’s disease face a "shocking disparity" when applying for a blue badge parking permit, a BBC investigation has found.
Scores of councils have lower approval rates for non-visible disabilities applications compared to those for physical impairments.
Non-visible disability applications began in England in August 2019.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said it would review their impact.
Applications for people with cognitive impairments were already considered in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘Devastating impact’
The BBC Shared Data Unit obtained Freedom of Information Act (FOI) responses from the 216 upper-tier councils across the UK.
Of the 109 councils who gave full responses, eight out of 10 had higher approval rates for people with physical impairments. For ten of those councils, the difference was greater than 50 percentage points.
James Taylor, from the disability charity Scope, said: "This new data shows a shocking disparity between [...]