§ 3.5 p.m.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any statement to make as to the issue of car badges to disabled drivers, and whether they will encourage local authorities to extend this concession to disabled persons who have vehicle under the auspices of the Ministry of Health or the National Health Service, in which they are taken out by a nominated driver; and to other severely disabled persons who have difficulty in walking and who are driven by a nominated driver.]
§ THE JOINT PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF HEALTH (LORD NEWTON)My Lords, a review of the scheme has recently been completed. It shows that the scheme has had considerable success in easing the parking difficulties of severely disabled drivers. The suggestion that it should be extended to include the cars of disabled people driven by a fit driver was one of the main points covered by the review. My right honourable friend has taken note of all the opinions expressed by those consulted in the course of the review, including his Advisory Committee on the Health and Welfare of Handicapped Persons, and has decided that, while the scheme should be reviewed from time to time, no extension of its scope should be made at present.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, will Her Majesty's Government call the attention of the Minister 442 to the fact that the local authority of Brighton have, as a matter of fact, issued regulations which meet the point of my Question? Further, will Her Majesty's Government bear in mind that the number of persons involved is extremely small—perhaps a few hundred throughout the whole country—and that this is one of those special cases where a concession, though perhaps not supported by logic, may well be supported by sentiment and be worth while doing? It is very difficult for a blind person or a limbless person who is being driven by his wife to get out of the car and go to his appointment alone; and if the car is left alone for five or ten minutes, then the "yellow peril" comes along and sticks a £2 fine on it. Will Her Majesty's Government think about this again?
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, as regards the decision of the Brighton County Borough Council, they recently decided to extend their scheme to include disabled people who have our Ministry vehicles with nominated drivers, but they took this action without consulting or notifying us at the Ministry, and in fact it is not in accordance with official policy. I quite appreciate my noble friend's arguments, and I think the Advisory Committee did, too. The reasons why they recommended no change at present were these. They foresaw dangers of abuse in extension of the scheme; difficulties for the police if people driving and parking vehicles bearing a badge were seen to be fit; and a reduction in the effectiveness of the scheme, which, after all, is founded on the good will of the police, of the traffic authorities and of the public generally.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, does this not show that Brighton is a little more sympathetic than are Her Majesty's Government?
§ LORD STONHAMMy Lords, can the noble Lord enlarge on the point about the dangers of abuse? And, if he is making representation to his right honourable friend on what his noble friend has said, will he bear in mind the extreme difficulty of some disabled drivers in being allowed a vehicle which will carry only the driver? Is it not possible to consider that these disabled drivers should be given vehicles which can carry a second person?
§ LORD NEWTONMy Lords, that last question is a very, much wider question, and I should not like to answer it without notice. All I can say is that this question was considered very sympathetically by my right honourable friend's Advisory Committee, and, for the reasons which I have given, they decided to recommend against it, and we have accepted that recommendation.