Call for blue badge misuse crackdown as one in 20 hold ‘lifeline’ parking permit

Councils have been urged to crack down on misuse of blue badge parking permits as the proportion of people holding them has reached a record one in 20.

The AA called for more to be done to detect offences such as using fake or stolen blue badges.

The permits, which must be renewed every three years, help people with disabilities or health conditions access shops and services by enabling them to park closer.

Press Association analysis of the latest Department for Transport (DfT) data found a record high 5.2% of people in England had a blue badge as of March 31 last year.

Some 3.07 million blue badges were held, an increase of 8% from a year earlier.

The regions with the highest and lowest percentages of badge holders were the North East (6.1%) and London (3.5%) respectively.

In 2019, the eligibility criteria for blue badges was extended beyond people with visible disabilities, to include those with non-visible conditions such as Parkinson’s, dementia and epilepsy.

More than two-fifths of the badges issued in 2024/25 were awarded without further assessment.

Depending on the location, they often enable holders to park free of charge in pay-and-display bays and for up to three hours on single and double yellow lines.

In London, they exempt holders from having to pay the congestion charge, which costs £18 per day.

AA president Edmund King said: “The blue badge scheme is a mobility lifeline for millions of legitimate users and their families.

“Our concern is not the absolute number of badges issued but the estimates that up to one in five badges may be used by someone other than the holder or authorised user.

“Fraud is an issue which can include family misuse, use after death, counterfeit badges and theft and resale of badges.

“We would welcome a crackdown on illegitimate use of badges to safeguard the deserving users.”

While there are no recent figures for the cost of blue badge fraud in the UK, the National Fraud Authority – a now-closed Home Office agency – estimated it to be £46 million per year in 2011.

Several councils have reported prosecutions for blue badge misuse in recent months.

Croydon Council in south London said in January that seven offenders were ordered to pay a total of nearly £6,000 in a combination of fines, court costs and a victim surcharge.

The cases involved badges which were stolen, counterfeit or belonging to someone else.

In December last year, Barking and Dagenham Council, east London, said four drivers were convicted of illegal blue badge use.

During the same month, Gateshead Council, in Tyne and Wear, said it prosecuted a driver for using another person’s permit.

In September 2025, Oxfordshire County Council reported two blue badge misuse convictions, including a man caught using his dead grandmother’s badge.

A Local Government Association spokesperson said: “Although the vast majority of badges are used correctly, there is a small minority who fraudulently use other people’s, either to save money by parking in disabled bays or through laziness, depriving someone with a genuine need.

“It is important to catch these criminals in the act.

“To help councils win the fight against blue badge fraud, residents must keep tipping councils off about people they suspect are illegally using a badge, bearing in mind people’s need for a badge might not be obvious.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “Exploitation and abuse of the blue badge scheme is completely unacceptable and is a criminal offence.

“Local authorities have been given improved powers to crack down on fraud and misuse in their area, and work closely with the police.”