Blue badge renewal refused

[calluna]

Ok, I've decided not to appeal after all. The letter from the Council does actually make it clear that I would have no grounds for an appeal - it says I can appeal if circumstances have changed, or if I feel that they weren't in possession of all the facts. Neither of those applies, and I might as well acknowledge that and move on.

If I had chosen to appeal then I'd have seen an OT to have my mobility assessed - but as the Blue Badge Team have made it clear that they are not allowed to take pain into account, then the OT report cannot make any difference. I have talked this over with the OT.

Instead I'm going to talk to the Local Government Ombudsman. Although councils are not legally required to follow the DfT Guidelines, they are strongly encouraged to do so. This is so that there can be consistency across the country. Oh - and I'm writing the council a letter, which I've been drafting today. Basically I am saying that I think they really ought to be following the DfT Guidelines. Not very nice having to write it, focussing on pain is something that we all try to avoid after all.

Julia - I'd urge you to go ahead with your application. You might like to have a read through the DfT Guidelines first, you might perhaps find it helpful although it is not aimed at applicants but rather at local authorities.

When I first applied for a badge, three years ago, I applied over the phone and had no problems at all - hopefully it will go the same for you.

[mod3]

Dear Sunil:

As you are in violation of the Code of Conduct for a second time regarding Rule # 5, this is a step two warning.

Rule 5. Do not use sarcasm, obscenity, or "attack language" against other members. "Attack language" can be defined as straying from maintaining a professional, respectful dialogue, and attacking another individual's person, intelligence, or emotions.

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[mod3]

I regret to report that Sunil has been suspended for 1 week for refusing to comply with this forum's code of conduct rules.

Please return to the original thread topic and refrain from discussion on the suspension or the thread will be locked.

Mod3

[calluna]

I have been wondering what the experience of others has been, with regard to Blue Badges.

I'm sure I'm not the only one whose mobility is limited because of PN. Right now I am as limited as I was when this began - actually it might be more, because I now have awareness of things that bring on flares and delayed pain, and I try very hard not to trigger them, so I don't do as much now as I did at the beginning. The pain is certainly right back the way it was when this all started. I do hope for improvement of course, as do we all - when I get to see my GP I will be starting the new meds, I'm sure - but I'll have to be careful as at the moment I dare not risk being unable to drive. There is something in the guidelines about people expecting improvement following treatment which they are due to have soon, it says they are not to be denied a badge in the meantime.

Anyway just wondered about this.

So - has anyone else in the UK actually managed to get a Blue Badge at all? Equally, has anyone applied and had their application refused?

[helenlegs 11]

I have Calluna, although it was probably the scaitic component of my problem which affects walking that did swing it??
Whatever, the accumulating nature of daily pain with PN should be taken into consideration. I do NOT understand how pain that is affected by activity can not be taken into consideration, but then we are both aware of the nonsense that can surround PN.
I wonder if you should keep on with the appeal AND do as you are doing with regard to letter sending etc. They may have the facts about your condition but do they understand them? How it affects your general mobility?
I feel sure that I read a case that had gone to tribunal where the chap had pain that was not affected by actual walking but he still received a mobility benefit (sorry wasn't blue badge, probably DLA or something) but I would try and find something of relevance like this if possible. You never know maybe someone here? I will also keep a look out too.
Helen

[calluna]

Excellent, glad that you've got one. I wonder if anyone else has? - or has been refused one?

I haven't sent any letter yet, and you are spot-on about an appeal.

I telephoned the Local Government Ombudsman this morning, and explained the situation to them. They've told me that despite what the council have said to me on the phone and by letter, I have to appeal against their decision. If they refuse to let me appeal then the LGO will take it up - and if my appeal is turned down and I feel this is not fair, then again the LGO will investigate.

So I rang the Adult Care Team who deal with appeals, and have an assessment booked with an Occupational Therapist at the council offices later this week. I did get put through to the lady who will be assessing me, and she was very surprised to hear that I'd been told that they couldn't take pain into account.

Will see how it goes....

Edited to add - I'm sure that not only do they have all the facts, they also understand them. There were several telephone conversations with team members and also with the team leader, we went over everything, distances, times, the lot. And then after that they just said well we are not allowed to take pain into consideration anyway, and your problem is entirely down to pain, you have no mobility problems as such because your legs have no functional problem.

In my case it is not the accumulating pain of PN, that increases through the day - that's not really the main issue for me here. These days I get much worse pretty fast if I have to walk any distance. I can stop and lean on something until it eases a bit, and then carry on. All the stopping means that it takes me ages to get anywhere, also as this goes on I tend to get slower, and there is a point where it is hard to continue at all. Standing still for too long will also mean that it gets a bit hard to cope. If I go anywhere in a car - which of course means sitting - I do use my cushion, which means that it is possible instead of impossible - and if I then try to walk, it is much more of a problem than if I try to walk straight from the house without a car journey first. This is two pain triggers in sequence and that seems to be what makes it worse. This is why the blue badge was so helpful, I could park closer and so manage to do things that I couldn't otherwise. But you know all that. Apparently I am still ranting, sorry about that...

[Mod5]

Sunil

As you have refused to edit your recent post to comply with Code of Conduct Rule # 5, this is a step two warning.

Rule 5. Do not use sarcasm, obscenity, or "attack language" against other members. "Attack language" can be defined as straying from maintaining a professional, respectful dialogue, and attacking another individual's person, intelligence, or emotions.

We realize that forum members will not always agree with each other, but name calling and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please refrain from this behaviour in your future posts and edit your previous posts in this thread as you have already been asked to do in a private message.

Thank you,
The Moderators – HOPE

[Mod5]

I regret to report that Sunil has been banned from the forum for refusing to comply with our code of conduct rules.

Several of his posts have been removed from this thread.

Please return to the original thread topic and refrain from discussion on the suspension or the thread will be locked.

The moderators of HOPE