Disabled people in Lichfield and Burntwood will avoid a planned £10 charge for their blue parking badge.
The Government had suggested the charge be put in place from January 1, but Staffordshire County Council has confirmed that they will keep the scheme free.
The announcement has been hailed as fantastic start to the new year by disabled campaigners.
Gill Wyatt, chief executive of South Staffordshire Carers Association, applauded the move.
“This is great news and really welcome in the current climate of cuts,” she said.
Matthew Ellis, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for adults’ wellbeing, added: “Staffordshire is a very rural county and for many disabled people their car is a lifeline.
“While the Government has suggested a £10 charge, and most areas have adopted that approach, we will not be passing on the cost in Staffordshire.
“The county council has fundamentally improved the way the Blue Badges are processed which means we have reduced those processing costs substantially.
“This is another example of how our careful and balanced management of finances means we can continue to deliver the vital front line services that matter.”
I would much prefer that they do charge a fee and any spare money is used to STOP the abuse of the blue badge.
Ninety percent of the people I see parking in disabled bays walk away from their cars/trucks at a brisk pace!!
Thanks for the red mark!
Do you not mind that you have to pay extra tax to cover the abuse by so many people?
Or do you not pay into this fund!
Please give us your comments instead of just a red mark – it would be good to debate the subject – who knows you may convert me.
Just because someone doesn’t *appear* to be disabled doesn’t mean they’re not disabled. I speak from experience here.
You are quite correct .You can be disabled – stone deaf – for example but does that qualify for “quote” – have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking” end quote.You did notice I stated they walk briskly from the car/truck?I do not see how some one who qualifies as being unable to “walk without difficulty” can walk so fast.Perhaps you can explain.
My late mother had secondary tumours in her bones, so could walk, but not long distances. As a result, she had a blue badge, but wouldn’t use it because she thought people would take one look at her and think she was misusing her blue badge.
Cynic, I admire that you never enter an argument armed with nothing more than conjecture. Your detailed statistical analysis of the situation clearly indicates wide spread abuse of the system.
Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more flagrant abuses of welfare so you’ve always got facts and statistics to hand. You never know when an article will appear that could benefit from your knowledge.
As a carer for a blue badge holder I can confirm that when we are out in our car and I park in a disabled spot, I do occasionally jump out of the driver’s seat and skip merrily around…I have even been known to skip and jog when I’m pushing my wife in her wheelchair, causing us both to smile and appear to be enjoying ourselves. Hopefully that doesn’t disqualify my wife from holding a blue badge?
But, Cynic is right, there are abuses of the blue badge scheme – stand outside the Co-op on Boley Park and see how many non-badge holders park in the disabled bays just to use the cash point, for example.
“Paul” I am glad to read you can skip and jog with your chair – my wife is unhappy/worried all the while she is in hers despite me being decrepit and therefore pushing at snails pace.
Can I ask you – What restaurants locally do you find assessable? While shops are supposed to have w/chair access we find that they may pass a technical test but in reality a lot are not w/chair friendly.