A DISGRUNTLED disabled driver branded councils ‘money-grabbing’ and ‘uncaring’ after being told he would have to pay £10 for a new blue badge.
Luton Borough Council (LBC) is raising the price of a blue badge from £2 to £10, and Central Bedfordshire Council is consulting with residents to introduce a charge of £10 for blue badges issued from April 1.
This is under a new government scheme which allows local authorities to charge up to £10 for badges.
The outraged blue badge holder, who lives near Dunstable and did not wish to be named, said: “I can’t see what benefit the new badge will make to me.
“In 15 years I have never been asked by a parking warden to identify myself so having an extra photo will not make any difference to the holder. The councils are penny-pinching off the most vulnerable people here and I am rather disappointed in the way they have done it.
“Councillors want us to think they are elected to look out for us but they have gone straight for the maximum £10 mark here.
“We are already paying councillors a lot of money, they’re just uncaring and money-grabbing.
“What do they do with our money? Spend it on increasing the council employee’s wages. Disabled people are often on low incomes and we already have enough to pay for with heating in the cold weather, lighting, food etc.
“They just don’t seem to understand that £10 is too much for a lot of people. But when they’re given pay rises why would they understand?”
An LBC spokesman said the fee pays for the issue of the badge for three years and includes the processing, administration, assessment and issue of the badge and the council will be charged £4.60 by the central provider for every badge issued.
He said: “Under the new system there will be a central database for all badges issued across all authorities and this will also assist with the enforcement of blue badges nationally. The new scheme also provides applicants the ability to make applications online direct to the central provider.”
The current blue badges are valid until they expire, some until December 2014, and then applications will have to be made under the new national scheme.