Mobilise - Promoting mobility for disabled people

In the fight against Blue Badge abusers some local authorities are employing Blue Badge fraud investigators. Paul Slowey, a director of the company Blue Badge Fraud Investigation (BBFI)  tells Mobilise about a day in his life on the hunt for abusers in Enfield, London.

09.00 Start work at the Civic Centre along with two other BBFI fraud investigators.

One is the contract manager and assigned to this Borough and the other a case manager who runs prosecutions.

As well as helping with the running of prosecution cases and on street operations  I run the company. I enjoy working with the large number of stakeholders and have ten years experience of running on-street operations with multiple stakeholders. On the contract in this Authority I have an outstanding team of very professional staff including a retired Detective Inspector with 30 years policing experience and an ex-manager from the Home Office who managed Counter Terrorism cases.  I spend the first hour redrafting the protocol on joint working with the Authority and the police. I find the better the processes the smoother the on street operations will be. Once an operation starts and badges are being ceased/vehicles removed and people arrested it can become a little complex and to prosecute things must be watertight. Continue reading »

Jackie Weeden tells us about the scooter formation team that is putting the fun into fundraising!

The Red Wheelies Mobility Formation Team like many things came about by accident.   All the team members have  multiple sclerosis and ride mobility scooters and  wanted to race their scooters, after all even lawn-mowers are raced so why not scooters? After some initial trials and tribulations to be allowed to race they found a suitable venue.  It was while waiting to race that a couple of the girls started weaving in-and-out of each other and eureka the Red Wheelies were born.  A dressage choreographer designed the original  routine, a uniform was agreed on and as the scooters being used were all red the name Red Wheelies seemed just right. The Red Wheelies were born and took part in fun days raising money for local MS charities. Continue reading »

Disability campaigner Matt Smith has won a battle against the City of Lincoln Council to have parking charges for disabled people reviewed. In a decision that could have repercussions across the country, City of Lincoln has agreed to reassess parking tariffs for Blue Badge holders. The change of heart came after the threat of being taken to a Judicial Review by Mr Smith who claims the charges are unlawful. Charges for Blue Badge holders were introduced in April last year and prompted Mr Smith to gather a case for a Judicial Review. Continue reading »

You can download and read the latest Mobilise policy statements on our Policies page.

The policy statement on off-street parking has been updated, and two new policy statements have been issued. One covers Shared Surfaces planning, and its postential impact on disabled people. The other covers the use of scooters and other mobility vehicles.

David L. Jackson talks to Mobilise magazine about having an ‘invisible’ disability.
There is clearly an underclass in existence within disability circles.
Excluded from the able-bodied lifestyle by our diminishing physical abilities, and likewise from disabled communities by blinkered perceptions and prejudice, the underclass I am talking about are those who have an invisible disability.  In my case, we are talking about severe and often debilitating pain, a result of my unilateral decision to refrain from living on high-strength  medication in an attempt to live a fulfilling and rewarding life. Continue reading »

The campaigning charity Mobilise has been running the Baywatch Campaign since 2002, monitoring disabled bays in supermarket car parks and helping supermarkets improve enforcement so that the bays are not abused by non-disabled patrons. The campaign is a real grass-roots triumph, with hundreds of disabled people across the UK participating in surveys and engaging with store managers and the public to try and convey the difficulties faced by disabled motorists and Blue Badge holders who reach their destination only to find that they are unable to park.

Mobilise was therefore delighted to hear that a parking enforcement company had heard about the Baywatch campaign and decided to help out by running their own, similar survey, although a little surprised that they hadn’t mentioned their good deeds to Mobilise. The LCS Parking Control company website announced that “LCS Parking Control tackles Disabled Parking bays in London” and went on to claim that “London-based LCS Parking Control […] surveyed their local supermarkets for disabled parking”. The self-congratulatory news item then went on to quote several participants – which is where Mobilise began to get a little confused. Continue reading »

Blue Badge holders face insults and intimidation when trying to park

Results of a recent Baywatch survey show that not only do disabled people have trouble parking at the supermarket but also face verbal abuse if they dare to question a non Blue Badge holder.  These are just a few of the comments noted by Baywatch participants who surveyed their local supermarkets for Disabled parking.

“I can’t count the number of times I’ve been sworn at or threatened with violence whenever I have spoken to a non Blue Badge holder.” Mr Harrison, Doncaster

“What used to be disabled spaces are now ‘parent and child’ spaces and the parking attendants are rude and threatening to any disabled people trying to park in what used to be their bays. Members of the public are worse. One outraged mother threatened to break my windscreen and let down my tyres while I was in the shop. Her “toddler” was about 12 years old!” Anon, York

“I asked a man if he knew he was taking up a disabled bay he said “Yes, but why should you get better parking?”

When I tried to explain I have difficulties walking and need that space he said “Why don’t you just f**k off and stay at home then?” Thomas, County Durham Continue reading »