Blue Badge fraud Daylight robbery Louise Parfitt finds out more about the rapid increase in Blue Badge fraud and asks what can be done about it? e have never seen anything like it, BBFi founder Paul Slowey says. In October 2021, BBFi seized 124 Blue Badges, more than it had done in any other single month in its 14 years of operation. This was surpassed in January 2022 when 136 badges were seized for misuse across the 10 local authorities with whom BBFi works in partnership. August, September and December 2021 were also record months for badge seizures. There is also another growing problem. The use of stolen Blue Badges is now massive, Slowey says. Of the 1,200 Blue Badges BBFi confiscated in 2021, 30 per cent had been stolen. Compare that with 2019, when 792 badges were seized, of which 20 per cent were stolen. Of course, all misuse comes at the expense of the genuine users, and of the local authority that loses revenue. Stolen W badges also mean they have been taken away from the genuine holders, whose cars are often broken into for their badge. But to the frustration of genuine Blue Badge users and mobility charities such as Disabled Motoring UK (DMUK), many local authorities appear to turn a blind eye to the problem. Graham Footer, chief executive at DMUK, says: Why are only a handful of local authorities tackling an issue that is endemic? The impacts on genuine users can be devastating and on the wider community with a criminal element breaking into vehicles and stealing badges. Evidence suggests one in five Blue Badges (500,000 out of the 2.5 million awarded) are being misused 26 britishparking.co.uk PN March 2022 pp26-29 Blue Badge Fraud.indd 26 22/02/2022 14:49