Blue Badge Information

From January 1 2012, blue badges will be issued through the national Blue Badge Improvement Service (BBIS).

Orkney Islands Council will charge a £10 fee for new applications, replacements and renewals, to cover the cost of the national scheme and local administration.

As part of the reforms, BBIS will also establish a single national database of badge holders and their key details.

This will enable quick and easy validity checks to be made anywhere in the country, and will help prevent multiple and fraudulent applications.

The new cards will also be harder wearing and difficult to counterfeit.

Any current blue badges will remain valid until their expiry dates – badge holders will not be required to make an application or payment until the date of renewal of their badge.

People renewing their badges, requesting a replacement or applying for a badge for the first time will no longer receive their badges the same day that they apply.

While applications will still be processed through OIC Customer Services in Kirkwall and Stromness, the cards will be produced centrally by Northgate, the company contracted by BBIS to run the new scheme, and issued by post. This means it could take up to 5 days for cards to reach successful applicants.

OIC will still be responsible for verifying application forms, checking eligibility, making decisions on entitlement, taking payments, updating the national BBIS database and assisting applicants with any queries. 

Eligibility criteria and mobility assessments under the new scheme will also change to help make the scheme fairer and more sustainable. These are outlined in the letter to all current badge holders (and below).

For more information, contact Orkney Islands Council’s Customer Services team on (tel) 01856 873535 ext 2903.

Eligibility Criteria

People are eligible ‘without further assessment’ if they are over the age of two and:

• receive the Higher Rate of the Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance and/or;
• are registered blind and/or;
• receive a War Pensioner’s Mobility Supplement and/or;
•  receive a lump sum benefit within tariff levels 1-8 of the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation) Scheme and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

People are eligible ‘subject to further assessment’ if they:

• are over the age of two and are unable to walk or virtually unable to walk because of a permanent and substantial disability or;
• are over the age of two and have a temporary and substantial disability that means they are unable to walk or virtually unable to walk or;
• regularly drive a car, have a severe disability in both arms and are unable to operate, or have considerable difficulty in operating, a parking meter or;
• are under the age of three and have a condition that requires that they be always accompanied by bulky medical equipment or that they be kept near a motor vehicle in case of need for emergency medical equipment.

At the moment, people who are eligible ‘subject to further assessment’ have their mobility assessed by their own doctor. However, from 1 September 2012, people who are eligible ‘subject to further assessment’ will have their mobility needs assessed and some people may be referred for an Independent Mobility Assessment when they apply for a Blue Badge. Further details of these arrangements will be made available nearer the time.

 
For any new or renewal applications from 1 January 2012, applicants will also be required to provide proof of identity and address.

• The documents required when applying for a blue badge are:
• Application form
•  Doctor’s signed form – if applying under ‘subject to further assessment’ between 1 January 2012 and 31 August 2012
•  Proof of Eligibility – if applying under ‘without further assessment’ (eg. letter from DWP)
  1 passport sized photo – must be recent and of passport quality
• Payment of £10.00
• Proof of Address – eg, Council Tax bill
• Proof of Identity – eg, Birth certificate, Passport, Valid Driving Licence