The Blue Badge National Day of Action, on 24 May, is being welcomed, with Bromley Council joining other local authorities across the country to tackle fraudulent use of the Blue Badge scheme.
The national focus complements Bromley’s own work to protect the integrity of the Blue Badge scheme, by prosecuting motorists for Blue Badge misuse, with this successful work continuing. Blue Badges provide a dispensation to help disabled people park closer to their destination by providing a clearly visible badge that can be displayed in the front windscreen when parked.
Statistics show that a small minority of motorists fraudulently use Blue Badges that are either stolen or used when the badge holder is deceased, or a badge is displayed without the user being entitled to use it, either to save money or for convenience reasons. As part of the council’s daily checks of all Blue Badges seen on Bromley’s roads, or within its car parks, the council's Civil Enforcement Officers undertook 23,400 checks last year, culminating in the average issue of 130 Penalty Charge Notices per month to those with invalid badges, with prosecutions also following.
Statistics also show that a record twenty-four motorists have been prosecuted for Blue Badge scheme offences involving the display of cancelled badges in the first two months of the year, which also underlines the need for continued enforcement. As part of the National Day of Action, the council’s Civil Enforcement Officers will also be joined on street by the council’s Blue Badge Fraud Team, prioritising and concentrating locations where previous fraudulent activity has occurred. The team will also be on hand to offer advice and support to genuine badge holders to explain why the checking of badges is required.
Councillor Angela Page, Executive Councillor for Public Protection and Enforcement said, “Motorists should be in no doubt that the council will prosecute where evidence of Blue Badge misuse is found. Our work to protect the integrity of the Blue Badge scheme is very much ongoing and those tempted to misuse a Blue Badge are warned that we are checking badges on a daily basis. We need everyone to understand that it is genuine Badge holders who are impacted, who sometimes even have their travel plans compromised because a space is not available to park in. This is why we need Blue Badge misuse to stop and we will keeping working towards this ultimate aim.”
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For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Head of Public Affairs, on 020 8461 7670 or email Andrew.Rogers@bromley.gov.uk.