PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Blue Badge Scheme: Dementia (3 June 2019)

From 30th August 2019, Blue Badge eligibility will be expanded to include explicitly people whose non-physical disabilities. As is currently the case, applications under the expanded regime will be subject to assessment by local authorities.

Currently there are no centrally held records of either the number of Blue Badge applicants who have dementia recorded as their primary disability, whether or not a badge was issued, or of any associated appeals.

Shortly, the Department for Transport will issue guidance to local authorities on how to assess the new types of applications. As eligibility will not be condition-specific, the guidance will provide advice on assessing how an applicant’s non-physical disability causes them, during the course of a journey, to be unable to walk, 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.