Completely opposed to disabled parking charges

It has been reported in the local press that Warwick District Council is considering imposing car parking fees in local car parks for disabled blue badge holders. Council employees have been seen in Kenilworth car parks conducting preparatory work despite no consultation having been conducted.

Kenilworth Disability Action Group is completely opposed to the imposition of such charges and wishes to be involved in the statutory consultation. Prior to the consultation we would want to have sight of the council’s evaluation of the costs involved, business case and moral justification.

It is clear that to ensure that all reasonable adjustments are made under the Equality Act 2010 considerable expense would be incurred for, additional parking meters, adjusting the height of the existing meters, replacing all the existing signage, and providing additional disabled parking places, making the exercise not cost effective.

Disabled people as a group have been disproportionately affected by the action taken by the government to bring the country’s finances into order. Some disabled people manage to continue to work though many are unable to work. Some have had benefits reduced, and some have had their social care time cut, with increased charges imposed for that care which remains. Disabled people who are unable to walk to the shops or to the mainly inaccessible public transport, find an adapted car an absolute life line for any normal activity. Wheel chair accessible vehicles though basically modified vans are very expensive.

Increases in the costs of heating when confined to the home and petrol required for mobility outside the home both disproportionately affect disabled people.

We live in a civilized democratic country were the majority of people believe that the young, the old, the frail and disabled should were possible be protected in an unequal environment. Choices have to be made, our government has chosen, in these strident economic times, to continue the level of foreign aid to countries such as India and China both of which have strongly growing economies and both have aircraft carriers and space programmes which we cannot afford. In this situation how can new charges be imposed on disabled people?

A small minority of able bodied people feel that disabled people have it too easy; these detractors take pleasure in parking in disabled parking bays, and would welcome any additional problem that could be put in the way of disabled people. One would hope that local politicians and council officials would not support such distasteful views.

We all at some time have said when seeing someone walking away from a car with a blue badge “he or she does not look disabled”. However while anyone can see the wheelchair , the crutches, the walking sticks, you cannot see the pain, the heart condition, the difficulty in control, the lack of stamina, the lack of balance, and the imminent danger of falling. Windy or slippy conditions can mean, whatever the need to go out, a disabled person is confined to their home.

The system for the issuing of blue badges has been strongly tightened up and badges are now not issued for short term conditions.

Fraudulent abuse of blue badges can occur but a number of councils have cooperated with the police to bring offenders to book with good results. This has increased the council’s income and has set an example to other potential offenders. Disabled people support this police action and are happy to prove their legitimacy if challenged by officials or the police.

Many disabled people have severe restrictions on the distance they can walk or the time they can function away from a safe controlled environment, if they did not they would not qualify for a blue badge.

Many disabled people have to plan every trip very carefully so as not to overstep their capabilities, in this situation the thirty to fifty yards going to and back from a parking ticket machine could mean they do not have the remaining stamina to complete the trip to the shop or bank and then back to the car. Anybody will understand this point, who has collapsed in a supermarket to find themselves lying on the floor looking up at a sea of faces all saying “are you alright?”

A second person in the car would help the situation but professional carers are expensive and difficult to organise, friends and family may not live locally, and is it reasonable to restrict disabled people to only going out when others are available to help?

If disabled people find using the ticket machines in car parks too difficult they may resort to parking on double yellow line within the town, adding to congestion, and reducing their own safety.

While many local authorities have considered introducing charges for disabled people only a very few after reflection have done so. Disabled people visiting a town that has introduced charges can be unexpectedly fined for parking, this is reported in the extensive disability press and the town soon becomes a no go area for disabled people. This does nothing to help the local economy.

The Spinal Injuries Association conducted a survey of its members and found that a surprising number very rarely ventured out of their homes due to the barriers society creates in the local environment. We should be reducing the barriers not increasing them. It is not surprising that despite the numbers of disabled in the community you rarely see wheelchair users in our towns.

I hope my comments will result in this proposal being dropped, obviating the need for consultation, but if not I reiterate that the Kenilworth Disability Action Group formally request to be consulted.- Robin Billington, Kenilworth Disability Action Group