AQW 6228/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 03/09/2020
Answered On Date: 17/09/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether she has any plans to review the requirement to provide medical proof for renewing a Blue Badge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Answer:

The Blue Badge Unit in Northern Ireland has managed to maintain its service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic with little or no interruption. Applications, both online and postal are being processed as normal with no delays being experienced. While local authorities in GB had to suspend their Blue Badge services, the Department for Infrastructure was able to adapt some new working practices to meet the new challenges of working during the ongoing pandemic to ensure the service continued with as little effect on our applicants as possible.

The Blue Badge Unit will continue to request that, where applicable, medical evidence is submitted which will help expedite the Blue Badge application process but it is not essential as a medical questionnaire can be forwarded to the applicants nominated GP. It should also be noted that depending on the application history it may not be necessary to seek further medical evidence. We are not currently experiencing any major delays in getting responses from GP Practices to our requests for the completion of medical questionnaires.