Blue Badge fraud All badges seized Feb 21 Jan 22 160 140 120 107 86 Ap r2 1 80 87 M ar 21 100 103 121 111 121 136 124 121 106 67 60 40 20 Ja n 22 21 De c 21 No v 21 Oc t 21 Se p 21 Au g Ju l2 1 21 Ju n 21 M ay Fe b 21 0 Badges seized during the past 12 months and solicitors to work with a council a few days each month. Its a pool of expert resource that can be tapped into for less money than setting up an in-house team, but still have a big impact. One BBFi investigator working a couple of days a week in Kensington prosecuted 60 people last year. Yes, its only part-time, yes its only small, but it changes peoples behaviour. Badges are seized. People are prosecuted. Word gets out. Compliance increases. BBFi carries out investigations often based on observations from CEOs, to whom Slowey provides training on what to look out for. BBFi also seizes badges and prepares evidence packs that can be used in court. Ultimately, its the council that decides what action to take. This ranges from sending a warning letter, Slowey was awarded Parking Person of the Year at the British Parking Awards 2021, and BBFi also received the Parking in the Community Award. The work done by BBFi, the London Borough of Waltham Forest and NSL to tackle Blue Badge fraud was recognised in the Parking Partnership Award. BBFi investigator Bill Ashton was nominated for the BPAs People in Parking Outstanding Contribution Award. It seemed obvious to me in 2008, when I formed a not-for-profit organisation to help disabled motorists, that I should do all I could to stop fraud and restore credibility to the scheme, Slowey says. My view has not changed in the past 14 years and it was great to get recognition from the industry. I think the wider community agree its important to stop Blue Badge fraud, and Im confident that in the coming years all local authorities will take a tough line on it. The annual cost of Blue Badge misuse is around 46m in England to giving a formal caution, issuing a fine, or prosecution for fraud which, if found guilty, means a criminal record. Each case needs to be considered sensitively on the evidence and on its own merits, Slowey says. The ripples also extend to wider criminality: motorists whose car has a warrant against it will stick a Blue Badge in it to stop any kind of enforcement action. Weve known for years this happens, Slowey says. So we also work with the debt enforcement agents to tackle the problem. Spread the word Both Footer and Slowey believe that all local authorities need to take action, otherwise the credibility of the scheme falls into question. Slowey also points to the Department for Transport guidance that states local authorities should enforce the Blue Badge scheme. I dont care if they use BBFi or find another way to tackle the problem. What is important is that every local authority does this, he says. How can we have great swathes of the country where theres no chance that people using a stolen or fake badge will be caught? How does that impact the lives of genuine users in that area and also on the councils revenues from lost income in pay and display charges? Footer agrees: Genuine users welcome enforcement taking place because, for them, that badge is a lifeline: they need those spaces. And its those members of the community who we absolutely must not forget in our network duty management. 28 britishparking.co.uk PN March 2022 pp26-29 Blue Badge Fraud.indd 28 22/02/2022 14:49