Council reveal scale of Blue Badge abuse across Suffolk

Suffolk County Council has revealed that 619 Blue Badges were analysed in 2023/24, with 42 badges seized and two people eventually prosecuted. 

John Ryan, of Hawthorn Farm in West Row, was ordered to pay £1,700 in costs after using his deceased father's Blue Badge in Newmarket. 

Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger (Image: Suffolk County Council)

Nurul Rahman, of Kelvin Road, Ipswich, was fined for using a Blue Badge which belonged to a hospice in West Sussex and had no links to Suffolk. 

Councillor Beccy Hopfensperger, cabinet member for adult care at Suffolk County Council, said: "We accept that there will be sometimes people who don’t realise their blue badge has expired. Therefore, we will send a warning letter that you do need to renew your blue badge and that’s fine.

"The ones we are more concerned with is the fraudulent use of Blue Badges. For example, if someone is deceased but that Blue Badge is continuing to be used.

"Anything like that, you are stopping a genuine person who needs that disabled space to access the amenities that are important to them. Any badge that is being used in that fraudulent way is denying anyone else the opportunity to use that space."

Blue Badges are inspected all year round by Suffolk County Council (Image: Newsquest)

It comes after a national day of action across the country in May. 

Around 10,000 badges were inspected across the UK, with 142 local authorities, including Suffolk County Council, taking part. 

In Suffolk, two badges were seized during the enforcement day, a figure praised by Christos Constantinou, counter fraud manager at the council. 

He said: "Two badges were seized, which from our perspective is a good thing when there are not many badges because it means people are using them correctly. The vast majority of the public are using the scheme correctly."

The number of people applying for Blue Badges has also increased, it can be revealed. 

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Suffolk County Council said there has been a 9.5% increase on the 18,493 applications received in 2023. There are a total of 41,274 Blue Badges currently being used in the county. 

Councillor Hopfensperger continued: "What is important for me is, it's not a victimless crime.

"Every time that someone is illegally using a badge that is not theirs, they are denying someone who genuinely needs that parking space to access their amenities. 

"It seems like sometimes why would you bother enforcing Blue Badges? It is a bit like a parking ticket, it is not affecting anyone. But it is. It's not victimless. 

"That's why it is really important to have these enforcement days and continue with this enforcement going forward."

May's enforcement day was part of wider action carried out by the county council. 

Regular days dedicated to Blue Badge inspections are held four times a year, but civil enforcement officers are consistently checking for any discrepancies. 

Most incidents occur with holders using expired badges, so a warning letter will be issued. However, Mr Constantinou explained there are more serious cases. 

He said: "In terms of cases that are more serious is when there are individuals that may have used a deceased person’s badge.

"Often it is a family member who has kept hold of the deceased relative's badge and they use it.

"We’ve had cases where individuals have used stolen badges. Sometimes we will have cases where badges are amended."

Cllr Hopfensperger added: "It is a continuous process, but there are particular days where we make sure we are concentrating on Blue Badges."