Review of the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales: summary

The Blue Badge Scheme provides parking concessions for people who have significant challenges to their mobility to enable them to access services and facilities. Welsh Government is responsible for the policy and legislation of the Blue Badge Scheme within Wales. Local authorities have a statutory duty to administer the scheme in Wales. To date Welsh Government has extended eligibility criteria using an evidence base of reports, reviews, and research.

In 2023, the Welsh Government’s Transport and Digital Connectivity Directorate commissioned the Internal Research Programme (IRP) within Knowledge and Analytical Services (KAS) to undertake research to review the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales. The main purpose of this research was to generate evidence to inform a decision on whether the current eligibility criteria should be extended. A further purpose was to understand the robustness of the Blue Badge assessment processes currently employed by local authorities.

Research aims

Aim one

To understand how robust the Blue Badge Scheme assessment processes are.

Aim two

To understand the literature concerning current blue badge eligibility criteria, to allow for future research into the widening of eligibility criteria. 

Aim three

To explore the factors leading to successful and unsuccessful applications.

Methodology

The primary research included a survey with local authorities in Wales, which focussed on data collection, retention and processing. Five semi-structured interviews were also conducted with local authority staff to gather more detailed information about the administration of the scheme across Wales. 

The secondary analysis included a desk-based Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) regarding the Blue Badge Scheme’s eligibility criteria and its robustness. Secondary Data Analysis (SDA) was conducted from data supplied by the UK Government, Department for Transport (DfT).

There are data limitations to note. The interview findings are based on a small sample size of interviews with officials from five local authorities. The small sample size means that the views should be considered as the interview participants’ views only, rather than being representative of all blue badge staff within individual local authorities, or all blue badge staff across Wales.

There are also issues with the blue badge data which were obtained from the DfT for the period December 2021 to November 2022. Data quality issues include an unknown number of multiple applications from single applicants, errors, and inconsistencies in terms of how local authorities process and record data pertaining to blue badge applications and live badges. These data issues mean it has not been possible to compare acceptance rates between different local authorities and the national blue badge data should be treated with caution.

Robustness

The DfT data provided some high-level descriptive findings around the scheme in Wales, in comparison to other UK nations, and with Welsh local authorities. However, the issues with the blue badge data supplied by the DfT means that it is not possible to account for differences in badge orders at either the national or local authority level. 

Findings from the REA, local authority survey and interviews with local authority officials indicate that whilst the Blue Badge Scheme is designed to be administered in a uniform way through the Blue Badge Digital System (BBDS), inconsistencies remain in terms of how applications are processed and assessed across Wales. 

Elements of the Blue Badge Scheme are interpreted in different ways by local authority officials, which can lead to different administrative and assessment processes. For example, interview analysis indicates that some local authorities adopt a stricter assessment approach based on discrete eligibility, whilst others adopt a more discretionary and holistic approach. 

The purpose of the Blue Badge toolkit is understood differently by local authorities. For some local authorities, the toolkit is regarded as a general guide which can be used at officials’ discretion. For other local authorities, however, the toolkit is understood as a definitive set of instructions which are designed to ensure consistency in terms of how the Blue Badge Scheme is administered. 

Interviewed local authority officials reported that their lack of medical knowledge and training makes it difficult for them to assess applications, particularly those involving complex or rare medical conditions. 

Interview analysis found that local authorities’ use of the Independent Advisory Service (IAS), which supports local authorities to assess blue badge applications, varies. For some local authorities, the IAS is used to assist with the assessment of applications linked to complex medical diagnoses and impairments. Other local authorities stated that they do not use the IAS.

Differences in the resources available for local authorities to provide support to applicants means that applicants with similar medical diagnoses and impairments can experience the Blue Badge Scheme differently. These differences can contribute to diverging outcomes for applicants depending on when or where they apply.

Extending the criteria

There is no universal view on the desirability of widening the eligibility criteria to include impairments hitherto not covered, or only partially covered by the Blue Badge Scheme.

The REA found that organisations representing individuals with specific impairments advocate for the extension of the automatic criteria to cover these impairments. It was also stated by all local authority officials who were interviewed that individuals with Motor Neurone Disease should qualify automatically for a blue badge.

However, some advisory groups and local authority officials are of the view that extending the eligibility to include a wider range of range of impairments is not necessary and may even be counterproductive because the impact of a given impairment on an individual’s mobility is variable and can change with an impairment’s deterioration or treatment.

There were also diverging views among local authority officials as to whether blue badges should be restricted to individuals whose physical mobility has been negatively impacted by an impairment, or whether blue badges should be awarded to disabled individuals who would benefit from a badge because it would provide them with better access to facilities and amenities.

The introduction of the BBDS, the toolkit, and the IAS have improved the administration of the Blue Badge Scheme by providing local authorities with a centralised application system, additional guidance on processing and assessing applications, and independent advice on complex or unusual cases.

However, the evidence accumulated for this report through the REA, surveys, and interviews indicates that inconsistencies remain in terms of how the Scheme is administered and how local authorities apply the eligibility criteria. According to the findings of the REA, these inconsistencies can result in applicants experiencing the Scheme differently and receiving different outcomes to other applicants with similar impairments and medical diagnoses.

The evidence regarding extending the eligibility criteria is contested. On the one hand, there is support for extending the automatic eligibility criteria for specific impairments. However, on the other hand, it is argued that the criteria should remain strictly tied to an applicant’s mobility. The review’s findings suggest that more research is required to understand the impact of extending the eligibility criteria on local authorities’ administrative resources and parking infrastructure.

Recommendation 1

It is recommended that the Welsh Government should consider further support and guidance for local authorities in administering the Blue Badge Scheme. The guidance should address:

• the training of local authority staff assessing blue badge applications, including support for local authority staff to understand how the eligibility criteria should be interpreted and applied
• the purpose and function of the Welsh Government’s blue badge toolkit and its intended use by local authorities including ensuring regular reviews are undertaken
• when and why complex cases should be referred to the Independent Advisory Service
• processes and timescale for applicants to submit additional evidence in support of their application
• processes for dealing with unsuccessful applications
• the recording and storage of blue badge data ensuring that data is captured more consistently to improve its quality, which could include capturing all blue badge applications electronically, or converting all non-electronic records to an electronic record which is then uploaded to the BBDS
• co-operation to facilitate the publication of statistics on the Blue Badge Scheme in Wales, mirroring arrangements the Department for Transport has with English local authorities
• participation in working groups to share best practice across Wales

Recommendation 2

It is recommended that Welsh Government continue to explore opportunities to reduce the burden on blue badge applicants. For example, some applicants being further assessed may be required to submit duplicate information across different forms, working in partnership with its Independent Advisory Service, the local authorities, the Department for Transport, and the Blue Badge Digital Service contractor.

Eligibility extension

Recommendation 3

It is recommended that Welsh Government consider exploring the possibility of introducing a fast-tracked application process for eligible applicants with neurodegenerative diagnoses which are life limiting and are causing very considerable difficulty walking.

Recommendation 4

It is recommended that Welsh Government open a dialogue with Scottish Government officials to quantify the extent to which the extension of the eligibility criteria in Scotland to include Motor Neurone Disease has affected administrative capacity and infrastructure capacity.

Recommendation 5

It is recommended that Welsh Government liaise with local authorities to better understand blue badge parking infrastructure capacity and the potential impact of extending the criteria.

Report author: Rebecca Cox, Gareth Curless, Eloise Gowing, and Benjamin Lewis

Views expressed in this report are those of the researchers and not necessarily those of the Welsh Government.

For further information please contact:

Internal Research Programme
Social Research and Information Division
Knowledge and Analytical Services
Welsh Government
Cathays Park
Cardiff
CF10 3NQ

Email: InternalResearchProgramme@gov.wales

Social research number: 39/2025
Digital ISBN: 978-1-83715-671-9