THE HISTORY OF PARKING CONCESSIONS FOR DISABLED AND BLIND PEOPLE (continued)
(by Geoff Wilkinson, Committee Member and Southampton Area Representative)

Several changes to the concession came into Operation on the 16^th March 1983. Under the following Statutory Instruments:

1982 No. 1740

ROAD TRAFFIC

The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles Regulations 1982

Made 2^nd December 1982

Laid before Parliament 16^th December 1982

Coming into Operation 16^th March 1983.

Arrangement of Regulations total 13. I have listed some of these changes.

Commencement and citation

1. These Regulations shall come into operation on the 16^th March 1983 and may be cited as the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) Regulations 1982.

Revocations

2. –(1) The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) Regulations 1975(a) are hereby revoked.

(2) Any application made, any badge issued or anything else done under and in accordance with the Regulations hereby revoked or having effect as if so made, issued or done shall not be invalidated by the revocation thereof but shall have effect as if made, issue or done under and in accordance with the corresponding provisions of these Regulations.

Interpretations

3. –(1) In these Regulations-

“the Act” means the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967(b);

“disabled persons” means a person who is over two years of age who is of a description prescribed by Regulation 5;

“disabled person’s badge” means a badge in the form prescribed by Regulation 4 issued by a local authority for display on a motor vehicle driven by a disabled person, or used for the carriage of a disabled person or of several disabled persons, and includes a duplicate badge issued pursuant to Regulation 8;

“holders”, in relation to a disabled person’s badge, means the person to whom the badge was issued;

“institution” means an institution concerned with the care of the disabled;

“local authority” means an authority referred to in section 21(8) of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Person’s Act 1970;

“relevant conviction” means:

(a) the conviction of either-

(i) the holder of a disabled person’s badge; or

(ii) any other person using a disabled person’s badge with holder’s consent, of an offence of using or causing or permitting a vehicle to be used arising-

(A) under section 1(8), 6(9), 9(9) or 12(9) of the Act if the offence consisted of the unlawful parking of the vehicle, or

(B) under section 31(3), 31(3A), 42(1) or 42(1A) of the Act; and

(b) the conviction of any person other than the holder of a disabled person’s

badge of an offence under section 86A of the Act where the badge was displayed on the vehicle with the consent of the holder at any time during which the offence was being committed; and the expression “relevant conviction” includes the liability of any person who would be liable to the conviction of an offence as mentioned above but who is liable, instead, to pay a fixed penalty pursuant to section 80 of the Act and sections 1 to 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1974(a).

(2) in these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires-

(a) any reference to a Regulation followed by a number is a reference to the Regulation bearing that number in these Regulations, and

(b) any reference to a paragraph followed by a number is a reference to a paragraph of that number in the Regulation where the reference occurs.

Form of Badge

4. The prescribed form of badge is a badge which-

(a) in the case of a badge issued by virtue of Regulation 5, is in the form shown in diagram 1 of Part 1 of the Schedule to these Regulations or, in the case of a badge issued by a local authority in Wales, in the form shown in diagram 1A of the said Part; and

(b) in the case of a badge issued by virtue of Regulation 6, is in the form shown in diagram 2 of Part 1 of the Schedule to these Regulations or, in the case of a badge issued by a local authority in Wales, in the form shown in diagram 2A of the said Part; and

Description of disabled persons

5. (a) receives a mobility allowance pursuant to section 37A of the Social Security Act 1975(b);

(b) uses a motor vehicle supplied by the Department of Health and Social Security, the Scottish Home Office and Health Department or the Walsh Office or is in receipt of a grant pursuant to section 5(2)(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977(c) or section 46 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(d);

(c) is registered a blind under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948(e), or, in Scotland, is a blind person within the meaning of section 64(1) of that Act, or

(d) has a permanent and substantial disability, which causes in inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking.

Badges for Institutions

6. An institution is eligible to apply for the issue to it of a disabled person’s Badge for any motor vehicle or, as the case may be, for each motor vehicle used by or on behalf of the institution to carry disabled persons.

Period of issue of Badge

7. Subject to the provisions of Regulation 11, a disabled person’s badge shall be issued for a period of three years beginning with the date upon which it is issued.

Duplicate badge

8. (1) A duplicate badge may be issued if the badge which it will replace has been lost or stolen, or has become so mutilated or faded as to cease to be effectively legible when displayed on a vehicle.

(2) A duplicate badge issued in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be valid for the period from the date on which it is issued until the date on which the badge which it duplicates would have expired, and shall in all other respects have the same effect as the badge which it duplicates.

Fee for badge

9. The fee if (if any) which a local authority may charge for the issue of a disabled person’s badge shall be an amount not exceeding £2.00.

Grounds for refusing to issue badge

10. (1) The case in which a local authority may refuse to issue a disabled person’s badge are cases where –

(a) the applicant for the badge holds or has held a disabled person’s badge, either under the provisions of these Regulations or under any of the provisions mentioned in Regulations 13, and in respect of that badge there has occurred on at least three occasions misuse which has led to a relevant conviction or which would give grounds for a relevant conviction; or

(b) the applicant fails to provide the authority with adequate evidence that he is a person to whom one or more of the descriptions of disabled person prescribed in Regulation 5 applies; or

(2) In the case where a local authority refuses to issue a disabled person’s badge in response to an application for one, it shall issue to the applicant a notice stating the grounds for refusal.

Return of badge to issuing authority

11. (1) A disabled person’s badge shall be returned to the local authority by whom it was issued immediately on the occurrence of any of the following events, namely-

(a) if the badge ceases to be required for the motor vehicle or all the motor vehicles in respect of which it was issued;

(b) on the expiry of the period for which the badge was issued;

(c) on the death of the person to whom the badge was issued or, where the badge was issued to an institution, on the institution ceasing to exist;

(d) if the holder of the badge ceases to be a disabled person or , in the case of an institution, ceases to be eligible under Regulation 6;

(e) if the badge has been obtained by false representation;

(f) where a duplicate badge is subsequently found or recovered.

(2) subject to the provisions of Regulation 12 a disabled person’s badge shall, within the time prescribed in paragraph (3), be returned to the local authority by whom it was issued in the event of the authority issuing a notice stating-

(a) that the authority refuses to allow the issue of the badge to continue in consequence of the misuse on at least three occasions of the badge which has either led to a relevant conviction or would give grounds for a relevant conviction; and

(b) particulars of that misuse.

(3) The prescribed time for the return of a disabled person’s in a case where a notice is issued as mentioned in paragraph (2) is-

(a) where no appeal is made as mentioned in Regulation 12, 28 days from the date of the issue of the notice;

(b) where an appeal is made as mentioned in Regulation 12, and the appeal is not allowed, from the date on which the Secretary of State issues a notice of his determination of the appeal.

(4) A local authority by whom a disabled person’s badge is issued may take such action as may be appropriate to recover a badge, which the holder is liable to return in accordance with paragraph (1) or (2).

Appeals

12.- (1) A person to whom a notice has been issued as provided in Regulation 10(2) stating as the grounds for refusal the ground mentioned in Regulation 10(1)(a) or as provided in Regulation 11(2) may appeal, against the decision in respect of which the notice is issued, and in relation to any such appeal the procedure specified in paragraph (2) shall, subject to paragraph (3), be followed.

(2) The procedure mentioned in paragraph (1) is as follows:-

(a) every appeal shall be written, dated, signed by the appellant or by another person authorised to sign an the appellant’s behalf, and shall state the ground on which the appeal is made;

(b) the appellant shall serve the appeal on the Secretary of State either by post or otherwise by delivery-

(i) if the local authority against whose decision the appeal is made in England, to the Department of Transport, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1 3EB,

(ii) if the local authority against whose decision the appeal is made in Scotland, to the Scottish Development Department, New St, Andrews House, Edinburgh EH1 3SZ.

(iii) if the local authority against whose decision the appeal is made is in Wales, to the Welsh Office, Cathays Park, Cardiff CP1 3NQ;

(c) on receipt of an appeal made as provided above, the Secretary of State shall send a copy of it to the local authority against whose decision the appeal is made;

(d) within 28 days of the date on which a local authority receives a copy of an appeal as mentioned in sub paragraph (c), it shall send to the Secretary of State-

(i) a copy of the notice mentioned in Regulation 10(2) or, as the case may be, Regulation 11(2), and

(ii) any comments it may wish the Secretary of State to take into account in determining the appeal;

(e) when the Secretary of State determines an appeal as mentioned in paragraph (1) he shall issue a notice to the appellant stating whether he confirms or reverses the decision of the local authority, and such notice shall state the reasons for the determination; and

(f) the Secretary of State shall send a copy of the notice mentioned in sub paragraph (e) to the local authority against whose decision the appeal was made.

(3) The Secretary of State may in his discretion determine an appeal made under paragraph (1) even if the provisions specified in paragraph (2)(a) to (d) have not been fully complied with.

(4) If the Secretary of State confirms the decision of the local authority the appellant shall return the disabled person’s badge in question to the local authority within the time prescribed in Regulation 11(3).

Transitional provisions

13.- (1) Any order made before the coming into operation of these Regulations, being an order made or having effect as if made under section 1, 6, 9, 31, 35, or 36 of the Act and containing a provision operating with reference to-

(a) badges issued by a local authority in pursuance of any scheme having effect under section 29 of the National Assistance Act 1948, or any similar scheme having effect in Scotland, and borne by vehicles or a class of vehicles; or

(b) badges issued under and in accordance with Regulations revoked by Regulation 2 and borne by vehicles or a class of vehicle, shall, on and after the coming into operation of these Regulations, apply and operate as if the reference in that provision to any such badge as is mentioned in (a) or (b) above were a reference to a disabled person’s badge issued, or having effect as if issued, under and in accordance with these Regulations, borne by vehicles or, as the case may require, by the same class of vehicles, and displayed on a vehicle in the relevant position.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) and any other order referred to therein vehicle shall be regarded as displaying a disabled person’s badge in the relevant position when-

(a) in the case of a vehicle fitted with a front windscreen, the badge is exhibited thereon the front facing forward on the near side of and immediately behind the windscreen; and

(b) in the case of a vehicle not fitted with a front windscreen, the badge is exhibited in a conspicuous position on the front or nearside of the vehicle.

29^th November 1982 David Howell, Secretary of State for Transport

2^nd December 1982 George Younger, Secretary of State for Scotland

1^st December 1982 Nicholas Edwards, Secretary of State for Wales

Specification for Badge

The badge shall-

(a) be 90 millimetres square

(b) contain the symbol and the particulars shown in any of the diagrams in part 1 of this Schedule printed in black;

(d) in the case of a duplicate badge be marked “duplicate” on the front;

(e) in a case where a badge is partly in English and Walsh the lettering of the Welsh part shall be in the same size as the lettering of the corresponding English part.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This Note is not part of the Regulations.)

1. These Regulations revoke the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) Regulations 1975 and substitute new provisions relating to badges by virtue of which disabled persons may gain exemption from certain restrictions or prohibitions relating to the use of motor vehicles.

2. Regulation 3 provides certain definitions; Regulation 4 and the Schedule prescribe the form of a disabled person’s badge. The badge is so prescribed differs from the badge prescribed by the 1975 Regulations in that it is larger and square instead of round.

3. Regulation 5 prescribes the descriptions of disabled persons to whom a badge may be issued. They include a person who receives a mobility allowance, a person who uses a specially supplied motor vehicle or who is in receipt of certain grants, and a person who is registered as blind. The only other persons included are those who have a permanent and substantial disability which causes inability to walk or very considerable difficulty in walking. Regulation 6 provides for the issue of a badge to an institution for a motor vehicle used by or on behalf of the institution to carry disabled persons.

4. Regulation 7 provides that a badge shall, subject to the provisions as to its return, be issued for a period of three years. Regulation 8 contains provisions about a duplicate badge. Regulation 9 provides that a fee for a badge shall not exceed £2 (the 1975 Regulations prescribed a limit of £1).

5. Regulation 10 prescribes the cases in which a local authority may refuse to issue a badge. These grounds are failure to provide adequate evidence that the applicant is of a description of a disabled person prescribed by Regulation 5, failure to pay the fee, and in relation to a badge which the applicant holds or has held there has occurred on at least three occasions misuse which has led to a relevant conviction or which would give grounds for a relevant conviction. The expression “relevant conviction” is defined in Regulation 3 and includes convictions of the offences arising under sections 31(3A), 42(1A) and 86A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967 all of which were introduced by the Disabled Persons Act 1981.

6. Regulation 11 prescribes the circumstances in which a badge shall be returned. These circumstances include misuse on at least three occasions which has led to a relevant conviction or would give grounds for such a conviction; and this Regulation provides that an authority by whom a badge was issued may take such action as may be appropriate to recover a badge which the holder is liable to return.

7. Regulation 12 provides for appeals to the Secretary of State against decisions of local authorities to refuse to issue a disabled person’s badge or to require the return of one in certain circumstances.

Regulation 13 contains transitional provisions, and preserves the validity of a badge issued under earlier provisions including the 1975 Regulations.

To be continued