Thursday 21 June 2012

Redcar MP, Ian Swales, supports Bill to help disabled blue badge holders


Ian Swales, Member of Parliament for Redcar , has given his support to a Private Members’ Bill to amend the Blue Badge legislation.

The “Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges Bill”, which was presented in the chamber of the House of Commons and has already attracted cross party support.

The aim of the Bill is to protect people who genuinely need a blue badge by clamping down on the misuse of badges by those individuals abusing the current scheme. The National Fraud Authority estimates it to be costing local authorities up to £46 million per annum. The Bill would introduce a number of measures to tackle this problem.

Commenting, Ian Swales MP said:

“I know that many disabled people in Redcar are frustrated when they cannot park because someone is misusing a badge. This Bill will clamp down on those individuals who abuse the system and deprive legitimate badge holders from parking.  Pretending to be disabled for financial gain is outrageous and deeply offensive to people with genuine disabilities.

“The changes contained within the Bill will improve the credibility of the scheme and result in the greater availability of parking spaces, protecting the scheme for genuine badge holders who have the most need.
“I am pleased to be supporting this Bill, which will benefit genuine blue badge holders up and down the country.”

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