Richmond whimpers over blue badge fraud

Richmond Council has released a statement pointing out that thousands of pounds of revenue are being lost because able-bodied drivers are fraudulently using disabled people’s Blue Badges to avoid parking ticket fees.

Some 5,000 Blue Badges are currently issued to residents of Richmond, a large number. They are valid for three years. The Council has estimated that for every badge which is fraudulently used for a year, approximately £3,500 is lost by people not paying parking fees - an astonishing figure. Do residents of Richmond really each pay £3,500 a year to park?

In the most recent case of fraudulent use, a parking officer at the Council spotted four able-bodied youths climbing out of a car which had a Blue Badge in the window. Police tracked down the owner of the vehicle who admitted the badge was not his and he has now been dealt with by officers.

Not very severely, we may assume, or they would have said so. If misuse of disabled blue badges is a serious social issue, why would the council not prosecute?

The Council conclude by saying they encourage people who believe a blue badge may be being wrongly used to report it by calling the Accessible Transport Unit on 020 8831 6191. "The Council’s Accessible Transport Unit is working with fraud officers to combat Blue Badge misuse and will always co-operate with police to prosecute or caution those found to be illegally using the badges."

Caution?

So is this a serious problem in Richmond or not? The statement carefully gives no indication how many frauds they've detected lately.

All in all, this statement is a cost-free way to say something pretty ineffective about an issue which Richmond Council cannot show that they are treating as a serious problem. They've probably been lobbied. But there's no sign that they're doing anything.