New Blue Badge rules from April 1

People eligible for a Blue Badge will no longer have to pay, under new rules which take effect on April 1.

A new Blue Badge is being launched as part of the Welsh Government’s ‘A Modern Blue Badge for Wales Action Plan’.

The badges have been redesigned to make them harder to tamper with, copy or forge, making it easier for genuinely disabled people who rely on the Blue Badge scheme to find accessible parking spaces.

The changes will also speed up the time it takes to renew Blue Badges, with a new service allowing people to apply for, or renew, a badge online via Directgov.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Director of Social Care, Health and Housing, Bruce McLernon, said: “We have approximately 16,500 Blue Badge holders in Carmarthenshire, and this new improved service will mean that they will no longer have to pay for their badges. Applicants can also be assured that the new badges, which are made of plastic instead of cardboard, will be harder for criminals to forge as they will be more robust.

“Hopefully this will mean that more disabled parking spaces will be available for people who genuinely need them.”

People can apply for new or replacement Blue Badges by post or over the counter at the council’s Customer Service centres.

Applicants will have to fill in a more detailed form and prove their identity by producing an original or certified copy of an official document, such as a birth or marriage certificate.

Details will be logged on a single national database, which will help authorities to crack down on fraudulent applications.

The authority will no longer be able to issue badges over the counter – instead, the badges will be returned to the applicant by the company which produces them via the post.

For further information, visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk or www.direct.gov.uk