British incapacity blue badges are not being recognised in main vacation locations throughout Europe because of Brexit, the federal government has admitted.
Automated recognition for Britain’s 2.4 million blue badge holders – a perk of EU membership – stopped throughout Europe on 31 December 2020 when the EU transition interval ended.
Ministers promised to barter particular person offers with EU international locations to recognise British badges, however a 12 months on they’ve nonetheless failed to take action for the most well-liked locations.
Travellers with disabilities nonetheless face uncertainty and inconvenience in international locations together with France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal – all of that are nonetheless in talks with the UK authorities over the problem.
The international locations are believed to be immune to recognising British badges as a result of it’s tough for native officers and parking wardens to confirm the authenticity of non-EU badges, an issue EU badges do not need as a result of they’re of a standard design and a part of the identical scheme.
Greater than 40 million UK guests travelled to the lacking international locations in 2019 earlier than the pandemic hit, accounting for practically half of all visits overseas by British residents worldwide.
With worldwide journey off the agenda for most individuals because of the Covid pandemic, the problem has up to now slipped beneath the radar. However incapacity entry campaigners stated the federal government was in peril of letting disabled individuals down and making it tougher for them to journey when regular service resumes.
The scenario is so unsure that ministers now suggest that anybody with mobility issues travelling overseas ought to test with the embassy of the nation they’re travelling to.
In a written reply to a parliamentary query seen by The Impartial, Transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris stated the federal government was persevering with “to have interaction in discussions with numerous international locations” in regards to the subject.
However he declined to touch upon the element of the negotiations, past stating that the federal government “stays dedicated to confirming the standing of UK issued Blue Badges for visiting motorists”.
Blue badges entitle individuals with mobility difficulties to make use of disabled parking areas. When Britain left the EU, the design of the British badge was modified to take away the EU flag – however together with the redesign went the proper for it to be routinely recognised.
A spokesperson for the Division for Transport stated blue badge holders ought to now test with the embassy of their vacation spot nation earlier than travelling to see what the native coverage was. A full checklist of nations’ insurance policies has additionally been printed on GOV.UK.
When The Impartial first approached the DfT in regards to the subject, international locations that had not stated they might recognise the UK badge had been marked beneath the heading “UK blue badge recognised” as “no”. Nonetheless the web page has since been up to date and people international locations have now been re-marked as “undecided”.
Different international locations that haven’t stated they may settle for UK badges embody Slovenia, Romania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria, and Lithuania.
Fazilet Hadi, head of coverage at Incapacity Rights UK, informed The Impartial: “For a lot of disabled individuals, a automotive with a blue badge is the one choice for with the ability to go away residence. The Blue Badge allows visits to household and buddies, journeys to retailers, eating places and cinemas, and visits to the physician or hospital.”
She stated it was “important that Authorities ensures that Blue Badges are recognised throughout Europe to make sure that disabled individuals get pleasure from the identical alternatives to journey”.
Baroness Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrats’ well being spokesperson within the Home of Lords, stated: “It’s deeply disappointing that the federal government seem to have let this subject drop down their agenda.
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“Disabled individuals already face an enormous wave of difficulties others don’t when making an attempt to journey, both for work or for a vacation and that is one more barrier for them.”
Baroness Brinton, who herself makes use of a wheelchair, added: “By failing to safe a reciprocal deal on blue badge use, the Conservatives are letting disabled individuals down. The UK Authorities ought to renew their focus – reaching an settlement is clearly in everybody’s curiosity.”
Some British native authorities additionally refuse to just accept non-UK blue badges from exterior the EU. The reasoning given by one north London council is that “disabled badges from exterior the EU differ in design and it’s onerous to confirm their authenticity” – a priority on the coronary heart of EU objections to recognising British badges.
A spokesperson for the Division for Transport stated: “It has at all times been the case that disabled drivers ought to test the native guidelines within the nation they’re travelling in earlier than utilizing a disabled parking card overseas.
“Negotiations on Blue Badge recognition are ongoing between the UK and particular person EU States, and motorists can at all times contact their embassy for recommendation or help in the event that they want it.”
