Foreword
The Blue Badge Scheme is a critical service for enabling improved mobility for disabled people. Without it many Blue Badge holders say they would go out less often.
The Scheme has been running since 1971 and needs to be updated to ensure that it stays fit for purpose in the 21st century. The proposals set out in this document will assist us in achieving our goals for improving the Blue Badge Scheme. We wish to make the Scheme easier to access and use by those who are eligible, easier to enforce in order to clamp down on those who flout the rules and more efficient to administer.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the development of these proposals. Members of our Blue Badge Reform Working Group, including representatives from local authorities, NHS Scotland, the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and colleagues from other Government departments have all played an important role.
I am pleased to be involved with improving this vital service for disabled people, and look forward to hearing your views.
Stewart Stevenson MSP
Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change
July 2010