Having been contacted by constituents who are frustrated by the barriers they are facing when trying to renew their blue badge and the “ridiculous” requests for evidence, Clwyd West MS Darren Millar has called for a “common sense” approach from the Welsh Government.

Raising the matter in yesterday’s meeting of the Welsh Parliament, Darren said it is “ridiculous” that people are being asked to send in photographs of their walking aids, which he pointed out could belong to anybody.

Calling for a Statement from the Deputy Minister for Climate Change in relation to his transport responsibilities and seeking an update on the blue badge scheme in Wales, he said:

“I've had a number of constituents who've been coming forward with concerns about the renewals process for the blue badge scheme. I appreciate that it's only right that these things are reviewed periodically, from time to time, but some of the evidence that they're having to provide seems a little bit ridiculous. I had one constituent who was asked to take a photograph of her walking aid in order to see whether she was eligible for a blue badge. Of course, she did point out to the person asking her for a photograph that she could take a photograph of anybody's walking aid and send that across, but, for whatever reason, that's what she had to do.

“Clearly, there needs to be some stricter guidance, with some common sense, to make sure that these obstacles can be overcome.”

The Trefnydd agreed there are problems with the new scheme, stating: “I do recognise some of the points that you made from my own constituency mailbag.”

She added:

“I will certainly ask the Deputy Minister to update us if there is something further he is able to tell us. I do think there is a difference between local authorities and the criteria that they use, and it could be that it needs to be looked at to make sure there is a level playing field across Wales.”