Dear Blue Badge People,

You’re kidding, right?

I mean, thanks for the reminder that in April that Mum’s Blue Badge (known as the Blue Peter Badge in our family) was due to run out in four months.  I did think that was a bit enthusiastic of you but obviously I underestimated the serious amount of time required to get through the miles and miles and miles of red tape that you feel is necessary.

I get that this is something that’s probably abused by many and you need to make a comprehensive process to apply for a badge as a result.  Please trust me when I say: you have absolutely overachieved in this area.

Initially, I thought I could probably fill in the details sitting in my own house 50 miles away from my parents.  I have my little black book of information and the previous application, after all.  But no…that would not contain the required length of red tape, would it?  What you told me I needed was:

A recent digital photo showing Mum’s head and shoulders.

A photo or scan of her:

• proof of identity (such as a birth certificate, passport or driving licence)
• proof of address (such as a Council Tax bill or government letter)
• proof of benefits (if you get any)

You’ll also need to know:

• your National Insurance number (if you have one)
• the details of your current Blue Badge (if you’re reapplying)

 

What you didn’t tell me is that I also needed details of all her medication and answers to many questions about mobility, walking, understanding of safety issues…and medical documentation to back it all up, and a lot of time.

So, I popped my laptop in my bag the next Tuesday I was visiting and settled in to get the blue badging done…

…And straight away we had a few issues.  We couldn’t find a recent proof of address.  The Council Tax bill had gone AWOL and all Mums government letters – pension and Attendance Allowance – come to me at my address (we’ve no idea how that happened but suspect it’s something to do with the Attendance Allowance application), so we were officially stuck before we’d really started.

We muddled through though with an alternative you didn’t suggest and got to the surprise question about all the medications Mum takes and what they are for (I’m not sure the detail was right as nobody medical has thought to write down what they are for and Mum and Dad don’t know, so Dr Google had to help with that one.)

Then we moved on to the open questions which I answered in detail before I saw that you needed medical documentation to back it all up.  At this point – four months ago – Mum had not been seen by a doctor since her stroke.  She’d seen her oncologist, but actually that side of things is irrelevant here.  I did explain in detail though, how she probably doesn’t see the danger of other cars, has to be watched like a hawk at crossings and tends to reach for a hand to hold as we walk through car parks.  Trying to get her in and out the car without having the door fully open just wouldn’t be possible either.

As I typed, Mum kept saying (with an insight that surprised me) ‘but what if I was a little old lady who had to do this on my own?  How would I do all that?’  And that is the biggest problem here, Blue Badge People.  The very individuals who most need the support of a badge are the ones least likely to be able to navigate the system.  And unless they have someone to help out nearby, they are stuck.

Anyway, I took a photo of her looking especially cute for the application (do you like the daisy chain?  It turns out Mum has been keeping the ones I make her each week in her room, bless her.)

And I submitted it.  That was the 18^th of April.  On Friday 7^th June, I received an email from you to tell me ‘Your Blue Badge application has been passed to the assessment team.’

It took you SEVEN WEEKS AND ONE DAY to look at the application?  And then you told me that ‘Due to increased demand, applications that require a full assessment are currently taking up to 15 weeks to be processed’???!

Three years ago, when I phoned you told me it would take 12 weeks for the first application I made to be reviewed.  I applied as Mum was leaving hospital as we I’d stupidly thought it would be a bit faster than a three-month process – and I guess we’d hoped she wouldn’t need that level of support when she was ‘better’.  When I called to ask if there was an interim option, I could use to be able to take Mum out I was told ‘she will just have to stay at home’.

So, I guess I was daft to think reapplying would be easier or faster.  My worry was that you’ll turn the application down until I could get medical evidence to support the application.

Ultimately, the renewal has come though, almost four months to the day, and for that I am grateful.  I was anticipating having to chase you and get supporting doctors notes, while allowing an extra 30 minutes every time we went out to allow for the extra time park on the outskirts of car parks to get the space we need to open the doors and then walk at Mum speed (a slow shuffle) to Tesco, hospital appointments and the like.  So, thank you for not making me go through that alongside All The Other Stuff.

However, please know: Your system is broken.

1. It is hard for a (theoretically) fully functioning, computer literate person to use; it would be beyond many who need it
2. It takes too long to process initial applications

My suggestions:

1. When you send the reminder email, rather than giving people the link that you do (kent.gov.uk) to reapply which then needs a lot of hunting through menus and at least 5 clicks to get to the page I suggest you send to the actual renewal page (https://www.gov.uk/apply-blue-badge).
2. Alternatively, for reapplications, provide the previous detail and ask the user to update accordingly, rather than having to start from scratch. As people get older, even proof of address and ID become tricky as these things are no longer in use / in their name.  As you already proved who they are in their initial application, assume that they are still the same person.
3. When you list what is needed before the application is started, mention the fact you need medications, what they are for, the frequency of taking them and details of doctors appointments. This take time to collate and often a physical presence (my Mum would not have been able to give me these details over the phone as she just doesn’t know them).
4. Have fewer open ended questions. The answers to these must differ significantly depending on  everything from how articulate the person answering is to what technology they are using to complete the form. And interpretation is entirely subjective anyway.
5. Don’t assume people are completing the form on a laptop – I was, and it took a significant amount of time. If I was having to use a phone or an ipad as many would, it would have been far harder to complete and taken a huge amount more time to complete without a full sized key board.
6. Please, just think about who your end user is and if that were your mum, dad, sibling or child, think about how they would struggle with the system in its current state.

And those, Blue Badge People, are my thoughts on that.

Warm wishes,

My Mum’s admin person.