Blue Badge fraudsters targeted by London’s boroughs and Transport for London

London's boroughs and Transport for London (TfL) are launching a crackdown from next month (October) on motorists who cheat parking rules by using blue badges they are not entitled to or that are fake.

A new blue badge database will give parking attendants the ability to issue cheats with parking tickets or have their vehicles towed away.

Blue badges are issued to disabled people and allow them parking and stopping concessions on the highway.

A survey by the Local Government Association found that nine out of ten London councils rate blue badge fraud as a serious or very serious issue.

Lost or stolen blue badges are used illegally by motorists attempting to avoid paying parking penalties and fees. There are also reports of forged blue badges being sold for up to £1,500.

To combat the problem London Councils and TfL have developed a special database listing all blue badges reported lost or stolen across the capital. If a parking attendant is suspicious about a badge they will be able to check to see if the badge is on the list.

If the serial number of the badge being displayed is listed on the database the parking attendant will be able to issue a parking ticket and to have the vehicle towed away.

A three-month trial of the scheme begins in October. It will run in Camden, Croydon, Kensington and Chelsea, Islington, Tower Hamlets and on TfL's Red Route network, which covers 580km of roads. It is aimed to roll the scheme out across the whole of the capital early next year.

Chairman of London Councils Transport and Environment Committee, Cllr Daniel Moylan, said:

"Blue badges are designed to help some of the most vulnerable people in our community. But they are increasingly being exploited by selfish members of our community to break the law.

Not only are these people shamelessly flouting parking rules, they are taking the spaces that are desperately needed by the people who genuinely need to park as close as possible to the shops, doctors and other amenities.

Anyone fraudulently using a blue badge in London should be left in no doubt that their actions will not be tolerated and that we are doing everything we can to catch them."

Patrick Troy, Head of Traffic Enforcement at Transport for London said:

"Getting this database up and running should reassure Blue Badge holders that we are determined to protect the system which they depend upon to get around London.

But it should also serve as a warning to cheats that use the Blue Badge system to beat parking charges that they can no longer get away with it."

Notes to editors

The survey by the Local Government Association was carried out in December 2006.

All of London's boroughs will up date the database during the trial, but it will only be used by parking attendants operating in the five boroughs and on TfL's network. The Metropolitan Police will also be able to access the database.

Badges have a registration number and a photo on the back that cannot be seen when displayed in car windscreens - meaning that they can be photocopied, forged and transferred between cars relatively easily.

Under the Road Traffic Management Act 2004, parking attendants, traffic wardens, civil enforcement officers and the police have the power to request a driver to show them their blue badge. 

It is an offence if a person refuses, without a reasonable excuse, to produce a badge for inspection and can lead to a fine of up to £1000.

However, obviously these inspections cannot be carried out if the driver is not present at the time. This database will be able to tackle fraudulent use of blue badges when the drivers are not present.

Transport for London enforces the Red Route Network which makes up 5 per cent of London's roads but carries around a third of the capital's traffic.

Any member of the media wanting more information should contact Stewart Henderson in the London Councils press office on 020 7934 9620 or at stewart.henderson@londoncouncils.gov.uk

Or Sophie Kirkham in the Transport for London press office on 020 7126 3948 or at SophieKirkham@tfl.gov.uk