The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on 30th September 2007.

Preliminary

2.  The Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000(1) (in these Regulations called “the Principal Regulations”) shall be further amended as follows.

Interpretation of the Principal Regulations

3.—(1) Regulation 2(1) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In the definition of “holder” for “institution” there shall be substituted “organisation”.

(3) The definitions of “institution” and “institutional badge” shall be omitted.

(4) The word “and” immediately following the definition of “issuing authority” shall be omitted.

(5) For the definition of “local authority” there shall be substituted—

““local authority” means a county council, district council, the Council of the Isles of Scilly, a London borough council or the Common Council of the City of London;

“organisation” means an organisation concerned with the care of disabled persons to which a disabled person’s badge may be issued in accordance with section 21(4) of the 1970 Act; and

“organisational badge” means a disabled person’s badge issued to an organisation.”

Revocation of spent provisions of the Principal Regulations

4.—(1) Regulation 3 shall be amended as follows.

(2) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be omitted.

(3) The heading accordingly becomes “Transitional provision”.

Descriptions of disabled persons

5.—(1) Regulation 4 shall be amended as follows.

(2) For paragraph (1) there shall be substituted—

“(1) The prescribed descriptions of disabled person to whom a disabled person’s badge may be issued are—

(a) a person who is more than 2 years old and falls within one or more of the descriptions specified in paragraph (2);

(b) a person who is not more than 2 years old and falls within either or both of the descriptions specified in paragraph (3).”

(3) In paragraph (2)—

(a) after “descriptions” there shall be inserted “referred to in paragraph (1)(a)”;

(b) in subparagraph (b)—

(i) the words “uses a motor vehicle supplied by the Department of Social Security or the Scottish Executive or” shall be omitted; and

(ii) for “section 5(2)(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977” there shall be substituted “paragraph 10(3) of Schedule 1 to the National Health Service Act 2006”;

(c) for subparagraph (e) there shall be substituted—

“(e) drives a vehicle regularly, has a severe disability in both arms and is unable to operate, or has considerable difficulty in operating, all or some types of parking meter;”.

(4) After paragraph (2) there shall be added the following paragraphs—

“(3) The descriptions referred to in paragraph (1)(b) are—

(a) a child who, on account of a condition, must always be accompanied by bulky medical equipment which cannot be carried around with the child without great difficulty;

(b) a child who, on account of a condition, must always be kept near a motor vehicle so that, if necessary, treatment for that condition can be given in the vehicle or the child can be taken quickly in the vehicle to a place where such treatment can be given.

(4) In this regulation—

(a) “bulky medical equipment” includes in particular any of the following—

(i) ventilators;

(ii) suction machines;

(iii) feed pumps;

(iv) parenteral equipment;

(v) syringe drivers;

(vi) oxygen administration equipment;

(vii) continual oxygen saturation monitoring equipment; and

(viii) casts and associated medical equipment for the correction of hip dysplasia; and

(b) “parking meter” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984(2) (see sections 46(2)(a) and 142(1)).”

Organisational badges

6.  For regulation 5 there shall be substituted—

“Organisational badges

5.   An organisational badge may be issued to an organisation for a motor vehicle which is to be used to carry disabled persons falling within one or more of the descriptions specified in regulation 4(2) or (3).”

Period of issue of a badge

7.  For regulation 6(2) there shall be substituted—

“(2) Subject to regulations 7(2) and 9, a disabled person’s badge shall be issued—

(a) to a person falling within the description specified in regulation 4(1)(b), for a period ending on the day immediately following that person’s second birthday;

(b) to a person falling within the description specified in regulation 4(2)(a) or 4(2)(d), for whichever is the shorter of—

(i) the period of 3 years which begins with the date of issue; or

(ii) the period which begins with the date of issue and ends on the date on which that person will cease to receive the higher rate of the mobility component of the disability living allowance or the mobility supplement;

(c) to a person not falling within subparagraph (a) or (b) for a period of 3 years beginning with the date of issue.”

Grounds for refusal to issue a badge

8.  In regulation 8(2)(b)(ii) for “institution” in both places occurring there shall be substituted “organisation”.

Return of badge to issuing authority

9.  In regulation 9(1)—

(a) for “institutional” in both places occurring there shall be substituted “organisational”; and

(b) for “institution” in both places occurring there shall be substituted “organisation”.

Form of badge

10.—(1) In regulation 11(a)(ii) for “institutional” there shall be substituted “organisational”.

(2) For Parts I and II of the Schedule to the Principal Regulations there shall be substituted Parts 1 and 2 as shown in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(3) In Part III of the Schedule in paragraph (d)—

(a) before “square” there shall be inserted “larger”; and

(b) after “white” there shall be inserted “, except the smaller square box containing the wheelchair symbol which shall display a hologram which alternates between that symbol and the identifier”.

(4) Nothing in this regulation affects the validity of a badge which—

(a) was issued before the coming into force of these Regulations; and

(b) was in a form which complied with the Principal Regulations at the time of its issue.

Display of an organisational badge

11.—(1) In regulations 15 and 16 for “institutional” in each place occurring there shall be substituted “organisational”.

(2) The heading of regulation 15 accordingly becomes “Display of an organisational badge when a vehicle is being driven” and the heading of regulation 16 becomes “Display of an organisational badge when a vehicle is parked”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State

Rosie Winterton

Minister of State,

Department for Transport

30th August 2007