In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (Public Participation), one question has been submitted by Mr T Neill, resident of Woodmere, Harmans Water ward with regard to disabled parking charges.
The full text of the question is set out below, to be answered by Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council:
Department for Work and Pensions and Office of National Statistics figures, compiled by The Papworth Trust in the report ‘Disability Facts and Figures 2016’, show:
· That disabled adults aged from 25 to retirement age are twice as likely as their nondisabled counterparts to live in low income households.
· That 55% of disabled people reported having no savings, and that disabled people’s day to day living costs are 25% higher than those of non-disabled people.
· That 40% of disabled children in the UK live in poverty, and that almost a third of those are classified as living in ‘severe poverty’.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recently concluded that the UK Government has ‘totally neglected’ disabled people, and has described ‘grave and systematic violations’ of the rights of disabled people in the UK.
Speaking for the Council, why are you happy that disabled visitors to Bracknell are charged for parking?
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 (Public Participation), a question was submitted by Mr T Neill, resident of Woodmere, Harmans Water ward with regard to disabled parking charges. In Mr Neill’s absence the Chief Executive read the published question to Councillor Bettison OBE, Leader of the Council:
Department for Work and Pensions and Office of National Statistics figures, compiled by The Papworth Trust in the report ‘Disability Facts and Figures 2016’, show:
· That disabled adults aged from 25 to retirement age are twice as likely as their nondisabled counterparts to live in low income households.
· That 55% of disabled people reported having no savings, and that disabled people’s day to day living costs are 25% higher than those of non-disabled people.
· That 40% of disabled children in the UK live in poverty, and that almost a third of those are classified as living in ‘severe poverty’.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recently concluded that the UK Government has ‘totally neglected’ disabled people, and has described ‘grave and systematic violations’ of the rights of disabled people in the UK.
Speaking for the Council, why are you happy that disabled visitors to Bracknell are charged for parking?
In response Councillor Bettison OBE replied that although there are people who believe that all services provided by the council should be free that is simply not possible. He stated that the Council sought to recover costs directly from those who use services such as a swim at the sports centre, a dropped kerb to their property, a care professional at home, or somewhere to park in the new town centre and not from the general Council Tax or Business Rate payer.
He advised the meeting that the Council manages three multi-storey car parks in the town centre which are barrier entry controlled. Practically, the barriers mean that there is no way the Council could provide free parking in these car parks for disabled visitors to Bracknell. He added that this would be the same nationally within car parks whether operated by a Council or private operators using this very common system of car park management control.
He reported that all BFC car parks in the Town Centre make provision for disabled parking but all require the car park users to pay the set rates. He considered that everyone who uses the car parks was treated the same. Within the High Street car park additional provision had been made to help cater for the pickup and drop off needs of those using Shopmobility.
Within Bracknell town centre there are a few non barrier controlled car parking areas where it is possible to recognise the use of the Blue Badge and give free parking in bays marked for disabled parking. However the Leader noted that eligibility for a Blue Badge did not require any means test. He reflected that national media reported that the Blue Badge scheme was open to abuse. He stated that the Council would welcome the introduction of a more robust national Blue Badge Scheme that included a test of resources as this would enable all councils to take proper account of a person's means and regulate accordingly.
The Leader responded that this was a national, not a local issue and that this needed to be raised at a national level so that any solution could be applied not just for those visitors to Bracknell but also to the benefit of eligible Bracknell Forest residents wishing to visit other places.
The Leader stated that the Council supported many services and projects which support and empower people with disabilities, which included investing in a Disabled Go online access guide for the borough with information about over 500 venues to benefit anyone with a disability living, working or visiting Bracknell Forest. He added that the Council had also developed guidance for retailers in the new town centre to ensure that they provide excellent customer service for people with disabilities and, working with BRP, involved people with disabilities in having a say on the design and layout of the town centre. The Leader concluded that he was happy that disabled people visiting Bracknell found a disability friendly community that, according to the Bracknell Forest resident’s survey, live and work closely together.