Blue Badge Car Park Charges Consultation Paper

Discussion paper for Equality Steering Group – Blue Badge car park charges – 27/09/13

Draft

Blue Badge Car park Charges – Consultation Paper

Subject: Blue Badge car park charges in SSDC owned off street car parks

Purpose: This is a discussion paper to consider the provision of free additional parking time for blue badge holders when using the council’s off-street car parks.

Background:

1. Following the approval of the District Wide Car Parking Strategy in 2007 the council implemented changes to its charging policy for Blue Badge holders at its pay and display sites; charges were introduced from April 2007 onwards with no exemptions. Prior to this, Blue Badge holders were not charged for parking at pay and display sites.

2. The policy change introduced charges for Blue Badge holders at the same rate as for non- Blue Badge holders at all of its pay and display car parks. In consultation with South Somerset Disability Forum (SSDF), an audit was carried out and revised locations of quality dedicated disabled car park spaces was agreed and implemented. The ticket machines were adjusted to the correct height as per the regulations at the time and level access to and from the machines were constructed.

3. A discounted Blue Badge voucher system was also introduced whereby booklets of 10 vouchers for 1 hour, 2 hour, or 3 hour stay periods could be purchased and displayed alongside the Blue Badge. The driver would indicate the date and time on the voucher and display as a parking ticket. The vouchers can be purchased by post or in person at the Council offices in Yeovil and Chard. They may also be purchased at the SSDF offices in Yeovil. The voucher booklets are offered at a discount to the daily parking tariffs.

4. Car parking tickets and the voucher permits are transferrable between car parks in the respective towns within the time limits of the ticket or voucher displayed, allowing the driver to be able to park closer to their place of business.

5. There is an ‘unwritten rule’ whereby the Civil Enforcement Officers (Parking Attendants) will allow extra time before issuing a Penalty Charge Notice on Blue Badge holders going over the expiry time of their ticket.

6. An updated Car Parking Strategy Review was adopted by this council in June 2013 for the next 5 years and recognised The Equality Act 2010. As a result of this and following consultation action points PS17 and PS18 were agreed within the strategy as below:

Action PS17: In order to ensure parking policy and management fully complies with Equalities legislation, future work will be carried out in order to review:

• Blue Badge charging and timings

• The demand and location of Disabled parking bays

• The appropriateness and accessibility of signage for Blue Badge holders

• The Voucher Scheme for Blue Badge holders

Action PS18: The Council will undertake periodic surveys of all its car parks to better understand who uses the car parks, in order that the impacts of potential changes in fees and location can be assessed.

• Understanding of car park users

7. This discussion paper relates to the Blue Badge charging and timings and the Voucher scheme only. The other action points above are being discussed and agreed separately following a recent audit review undertaken by SSDF in conjunction with the Property & Engineering Services Manager.

Equality Act 2010

8. Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, the general equality duty (GED), imposes a duty on public authorities when exercising public functions to have due regard to the need to:

(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act

(b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it

The Courts have made it clear that the GED not only applies to general formulation of policy but also to decisions made in applying policy in individual cases.

The Act recognises that not everyone's needs or experiences are the same and that equality does not mean always treating everybody in exactly the same way.

Meeting the needs of people with disabilities

9. S.149(4) of the Act specifically states that the steps involved in meeting the needs of disabled persons include steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities

In relation to disability in particular, delivering equality of opportunity by meeting needs can sometimes in practice require additional services to be offered as an alternative alongside a ‘mainstream’ approach. This emphasises the fact that equality of opportunity for disabled people cannot be achieved simply by treating disabled and non-disabled people alike.

Risk Assessment:

10. The above details are important changes under the Equality Act 2010 which trigger a risk assessment of the situation for this council

Car park charges for Blue Badge holders

11. As part of the District Wide Car Park Strategy review along with guidance from Case Law, the car park charges for Blue Badge holders are now being reconsidered.

This will take into account the representations made by disabled users, and consultation with representative groups. In addition, this review will potentially complement the current voucher discount scheme for Blue badge holders.

Charging/ Voucher Options

12. There are various options available to the council to address the issues raised:

Option 1

Retain the existing policy of charging the same car parking charges for Blue Badge holders and non-Blue Badge holders and the availability of purchasing the voucher booklets.

Option 2

As option 1 but removing the availability of purchasing the voucher booklets

Option 3

Re-introduce the previous concession of free unlimited parking for Blue Badge holders in all of the council’s car parks.

Option 4

Purchase 1 hour and get 1 additional hour free

Purchase 2 hours and get 2 additional hours free

Purchase 3 hours and get 3 additional hours free

Purchase 4 hours and get free all day parking

Option 5

Retain the principle of charging for Blue Badge holders, but introduce a concession which takes account of the restricted mobility of Blue Badge holders, and the consequent additional time taken to park and travel as follows by allowing an additional flat 30 minutes additional time on any ticket or voucher displayed. This will equate as follows:

Purchase 1 hour and get 30 minutes free

Purchase 2 hours and get 30 minutes free

Purchase 3 hours and get 30 minutes free

Purchase 4 hours and get 30 minutes free

13. Conclusions on Options

Option 1

Not recommended, as this would leave the council open to a legal challenge/civil action which is likely to be successful

Option 2

Not recommended as these have proven to be popular with Blue Badge holders. Although it is noted that first time users of the car parks may not know that vouchers are available (details are on the notice board and website).

Option 3

Not recommended, this option would go beyond that which would be likely to be necessary to meet the council’s duties under the Equality Act, and potentially result in the inappropriately early disposal/change of use of sites currently used as car parks.

Option 4

Not recommended but a possible option for consideration. This option will provide sufficient additional free time required by disabled customers when using the council’s car parks, and contribute positively to revenue streams which are necessary to ensure continued site use as car parks. However, it is felt that this concession over compensates the additional time required.

Option 5

Recommended as this option is fair for all Blue Badge holders who have to purchase and display a ticket or voucher. It is felt that the additional time required is a constant factor regardless to the length of stay so a uniform time extension should be applied to all tickets/permits. It recognises that it can take up to twice as long for a disabled person to park and access the Towns than a non- disabled person. It also helps to remove any discrepancy between those who have to purchase a ticket from those who have vouchers.

14. Recommendations:

1. Approve the provision of 30 minutes free additional time for Blue Badge holders as set out in Option 5 of the report to take effect as soon as practical after formal Council approval.

2. Undertake the necessary statutory procedures to introduce the amendments, by means of a Variation under Sections 32 and 35 and Part IV of Schedule 9 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, as amended ("the1984 Act"), and under the Traffic Management Act 2004 to the Car Park Consolidated Order 2012.

3. Amend the car park Regulation Notice Boards to state the 30 min overstay period for Blue Badge holders and amend the council’s website to reflect this change. Voucher booklets sold prior to the next print batch to be amended, by hand, to reflect this change and new booklets to state this concession.

Financial Consequences

15. The current income projection for Blue Badge holders is very difficult to estimate.

The effect of providing free additional time is not anticipated to have an overall impact on the car park revenue because of the unwritten rule currently applied on overstaying at present. It is hoped that this concession may encourage more Blue Badge holders to park safely in the car parks rather than on street.

This adjustment has the benefit of minimising the impact on car park revenues and consequently is the best option to protect the viability of the existing use of the land for car parking.

The Blue Badge scheme is considered a suitable means of assessing if a parking customer is likely to have serious mobility problems and should be the qualification required for free additional time.

There will be estimated costs of £2,500 for the preparation of notices, advertising, changes to signage and adaptations to the printing of voucher booklets.

Strategic Priority and Outcome/Service Priorities

16. The report helps to meet the strategic priority ‘Striving to deliver an improving quality of life for all’. It will also help to access the wide range of services in the market towns provided by the council and the service plan priority to continue to improve equality and diversity within our services.

Equality Objectives 2012 -2016

17. “Accessibility – deliver services that meet the needs of the community”

• Ensure that customer’s access needs are met at the first point of contact;

Garry Green

Property & Engineering Services Manager

References:

Equality Act 2010

Technical Guidance on the Public Sector Equality Duty England 2010