Well, the social model of disability, developed by disabled people, says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets, or they can be caused by people's attitudes to difference. With that in mind, and as our report states,

'Blue badges provide a lifeline for a range of people in our society. Without them, many would struggle to access essential services such as attending medical appointments. Difficulty in visiting shops and using leisure facilities diminishes their ability to lead independent lives and they could become more isolated and confined to their own homes.'

After accepting our recommendation 1, that the Welsh Government undertakes a review of the eligibility criteria for the blue badge, the Welsh Government then qualified this by stating,

'Officials will consider and explore further research through joint working between the four UK nations', where findings will inform the next steps, adding that,

'It cannot be confirmed whether the work can be funded within current budgets.'

As worded, therefore, this is not acceptance, and we need clarity accordingly.

Recommendation 4 recommends that the Welsh Government explores options for introducing a concessionary parking scheme separate to the blue badge scheme to meet the needs of those who require swift access to amenities, such as carers, those with incontinence problems and those suffering a temporary impairment expected to last less than 12 months, without impacting on the availability of parking spaces for those with mobility problems.

In rejecting this, the Welsh Government states that the firm evidence base required,

'Will be included within the review identified in recommendation 1',

i.e. raising the same concern identified earlier.

I have long been calling for temporary blue badges, after receiving correspondence from constituents over the years who have had temporary impairments, requiring them to depend upon mobility aids for limited periods because of an accident, operation, or occasionally other factors. Speaking here in 2016, I moved an amendment to defer the introduction of temporary blue badges because the Welsh Government’s amendment regulations didn't go nearly far enough and still disabled too many people. Although these blue badges available to people with temporary impairments that last more than 12 months but aren’t permanent were, therefore, a step in the right direction, I stated that they were,

'In breach of the Welsh Government’s publicly stated commitments to person-centred support, to independent living and to the social model of disability.'

Age Cymru told me then that, 

'We agree with you that there should be flexibility around the period for which the temporary badges are issued, and we deem that the duration of the badge in such circumstances should be based on the recovery time of the applicant’, and Disability Wales said that,

'Blue badges should ideally have a more person-centred time limit to reflect individual impairment, rather than a one-size-fits-all period of one year’.

The Welsh Government rejected our recommendation 7, which recommended,

'That the Welsh Government updates its guidance to local authorities to clearly specify that all staff who undertake blue badge assessments are trained to understand and apply the social model of disability', on the grounds that its guidance can only recommend and not specify. As our report states, Disability Wales highlighted inconsistencies in the knowledge and understanding of assessors across local authorities and said,

'We’re not entirely convinced about people’s competence to carry out those assessments. We haven’t got knowledge of what training those people have undertaken to come to those decisions.'

This issue was also raised by the National Autistic Society Cymru, who suggested that suitable training, including autism training, should be mandatory for those making decisions on eligibility for a blue badge under the cognitive impairment discretionary criteria. Unless the Welsh Government ensures lived-experience training for blue badge assessors, assessment errors will continue to fail people, as will its rejection of committee recommendations 9 and 10 that the Welsh Government put in place review and formal appeals processes for applicants to challenge an authority’s decision on a blue badge application.

Although Assembly lawyers stated that the Welsh Government can impose duties on a local authority to make arrangements with a view to securing that its functions are carried out with due regard to the need to meet the equal opportunity requirements, by amendment to the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970, the Welsh Government states that there is no capacity in the legislation programme for this Assembly term. I therefore conclude by calling on all parties to include a commitment to do this in their election manifestos for the next Welsh Parliament term.