Meeting of the Parliament 20 May 2014
I have heard other individuals express that concern, which is often the result of welfare reform changes that require people, as Liam McArthur put it, to go through hoops. That is why the form can be somewhat complex.
From time to time, we have looked at whether the form could be made more straightforward. In particular, we have tried to maximise the number of people with a blue badge who will be passported straight through to entitlement in the future. However, it is important to have the form because that helps to drive out misuse of badges and forged badges. We will keep the matter under review, as we have done up until now.
I, too, thank the Local Government and Regeneration Committee. I endorse Kevin Stewart’s point about the effectiveness of witnesses giving evidence to the committee at the same time as Dennis Robertson, the bill’s proposer. I also thank the Finance Committee and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee for their consideration of the bill.
We have heard much of the bill’s detail from Dennis Robertson, so I will draw on some of the conclusions of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee’s report. An issue was the difficulty in identifying the level of misuse. It has not been easy for Dennis Robertson in developing the proposals to establish a baseline of evidence for the scale of blue badge scheme misuse. In that context, our thanks must go to the Glasgow City Council and the City of Edinburgh Council, which provided information based on snapshots of blue badge use and misuse in their areas.
I underline Kevin Stewart’s point that a very determined person can save themselves upwards of £6,000 by misusing a blue badge. I also reiterate the point that blue badge misuse is not a victimless crime—or will not be when it becomes a criminal offence. As has been said, a misused badge deprives people of the disabled parking spaces to which they are entitled.
Research findings from Scotland on the use and value of the blue badge and the extrapolation of data from England also contributed to defining as closely as possible the scale of misuse. Paragraph 22 of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee’s stage 1 report gets to the crux of the matter and states:
“While it is unclear how accurate these figures are or indeed whether they refer to overall abuse rates, it is clear from the evidence we received there is a substantial problem which impacts adversely on people’s lives. The Bill aims to address by improving the ability of the enforcement authorities to take action in a number of ways.”
I agree whole-heartedly. That is why it is important that local authorities have powers to act in cases in which it is apparent that a blue badge is not being used in the way that it should be used or by the person whom it is intended to assist.
I also acknowledge Police Scotland’s commitment to enforce the blue badge scheme. As mentioned in the stage 1 report, I confirm that Transport Scotland officials are consulting the blue badge improvement service to facilitate direct access by Police Scotland to the blue badge database. That will give Police Scotland immediate and accurate information on badges issued by local authorities.
While the bill is an improvement on what went before and on the further improvements that we have made over the past two years following a review of the scheme, it will not provide a quick fix to the misuse of badges. Research on the use and value of the blue badge scheme highlighted gaps in people’s understanding of the scheme; that was echoed in responses to Dennis Robertson’s consultation on the bill and in the evidence to the Local Government and Regeneration Committee.
As was mentioned, Transport Scotland is working with Dennis Robertson, and a multi-agency working group has been set up to help to inform the policy behind the legislation and to consider wider issues: for example, how better to highlight the role and purpose of the blue badge scheme to badge holders, enforcement officers and the wider public.
The old cliché is not true; one size will not fit all. We need to get the relevant information to the right people. In order to do that, guidance will first be disseminated to all local authorities and to Police Scotland on the changes that the bill will introduce. Local authorities will be able to include that guidance in their existing training arrangements for enforcement officers and appropriate guidance will also be arranged for use by Police Scotland.
Secondly, we will review the current information for badge holders, with the aim of providing more concise messages on the use and care of the blue badge. As Kevin Stewart said, some of the current guidance is perhaps a bit unwieldy. As I said to the committee, work is under way in the multi-agency working group to develop the top 10 tips for use of the blue badge. The aim is to produce something that is easy to read and durable and that can be kept with the blue badge, as a constant reminder of the correct way to use it.
Thirdly, publicity will be developed to deter abuse and to make people aware of the devastating impact of the scheme’s abuse on blue badge holders.
The bill is the culmination of a range of measures that have been put in place over the past few years to ensure that people who hold blue badges can benefit from the on-street parking concession that the scheme provides.
I again thank the Local Government and Regeneration Committee for its work, and in particular for considering the range of written and oral evidence that it received and exploring the issues that were raised. The Government will continue to support Dennis Robertson as the bill progresses.
16:45