03.02.2014
Proposals to tackle the misuse of the disabled parking blue badge scheme are to be examined by the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Regeneration Committee.
The Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Bill, introduced by Dennis Robertson MSP, aims to improve the ability of local authorities to tackle the misuse of the blue badge by strengthening current enforcement powers as well as introducing the ability to cancel and confiscate badges.
Committee Convener, Kevin Stewart MSP said:
“The misuse of the blue badge scheme can have a major impact on the lives of those who rely on the ability to use disabled parking spaces to access the everyday services that most of us take for granted. We want to hear from people about the impact such misuse has on their lives and whether the Bill before us will make a difference.”
“Measures such as confiscating and cancelling badges might appear extreme and we will look carefully at the proposals before us to see if they really will have the desired effect of deterring misuse.”
Introduced in December 2013 by Dennis Robertson MSP, the policy memorandum to the Bill states that its aim is to “protect the rights of badge holders and strengthen the existing framework of the scheme.”
The Bill allows local authorities to cancel badges if lost or stolen, to confiscate badges that have been misused, and it creates a new offence of using a cancelled badge. It also provides local authorities with the power to designate persons other than uniformed parking attendants to confiscate badges being misused.
The Committee is keen to gather a wide range of evidence to support its inquiry and issued a public call for evidence on Thursday 23 January 2014. Details of which can be found on the Committee’s webpage:
Call for evidence
The closing date for submissions is Wednesday 12 March 2014.
How to submit your submissions
Responses should be sent, wherever possible, electronically and in MS Word format to:
lgr.committee@scottish.parliament.uk
Hard copy responses may be sent to:
Clerk to the Local Government and Regeneration Committee
Room T3.40
Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP