Equality Impact Assessment - Results

EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT - RESULTS

Title of Policy	Draft Equality Impact Assessment on changes to the Blue Badge Scheme in Scotland as a consequence of DWP Welfare Reform change from Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Summary of aims and desired outcomes of Policy	To ensure that arrangements are in place for passporting to the Blue Badge scheme when Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for those of working age from April 2013 in consequence of the UK Government's reforms of the welfare system.
Directorate: Division: team	Blue Badge Team Transport Policy Directorate

Executive summary

The Blue Badge Scheme provides valuable parking concessions which allow disabled people to park closer to where they want to go. Individuals in receipt of Higher Rate Mobility Component of Disability Living Allowance (HRMC DLA), with proof of their award, can currently qualify automatically for a Blue Badge. This arrangement will continue for those under 16 and those over 64.

The policy aim in amending the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 is to ensure that arrangements are in place for passporting to the Blue Badge scheme when Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is replaced by Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for those of working age (16-64) from April 2013 in consequence of the UK Government's reforms of the welfare system.

Scottish Ministers agreed that the eligibility criteria in the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 be extended to include an automatic passport from PIP to the Blue Badge Scheme. The Welfare Reform (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 were laid in the Scottish Parliament on 25 February to make the consequential changes.

The desired outcome is to maintain equivalency as far as possible in passporting arrangements for recipients of PIP by using the PIP Mobility Component activity descriptors in the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013 which are the closest match to the current criteria for passporting from HRMC DLA and the criteria for a Blue Badge.

For those in receipt of PIP, the passport to a Blue Badge will automatically be available to:

those who receive the mobility component of PIP awarded at 12 points for "planning and following journeys" which includes those who cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid.

those who receive mobility component of PIP awarded at 8 points or more for "moving around".

This will ensure that the passporting arrangements from PIP are as close as possible to the criteria for passporting from HRMC DLA.

The Department of Work and Pensions were unable to confirm how many or what groups of people might be affected by the changes. However, they indicate that they expect over 20% of all DLA claimants to lose entitlement once reassessed for PIP.

In light of this, transitional arrangements have been included to allow those who have been in receipt of HRMC DLA, but following reassessment by DWP do not qualify for PIP or receive a PIP award which does not meet the passporting criteria contained in the amended Regulations, to retain their Blue Badges until the original expiry date on their badge.

Background

In June 2012, the Scottish Government published a consultation paper; Scottish Passported Benefits: Consultation on changes required as a result of the UK Government's introduction of Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment. The consultation ran until the end of September 2012 and respondents were invited to submit their opinions and views on a number of issues and proposals in relation to passported benefits, including the Blue Badge Scheme.

The Scottish Government received 84 responses to this consultation;
74 from organisations (anti poverty groups: 8, disability groups: 18, Local Authorities: 20, other public bodies: 12, welfare rights groups: 14, others: 2) and 10 from individuals.

Following this, Scottish Government and Department for Work and Pensions officials held a workshop on 25 October 2012 to update stakeholders on the UK Government's Welfare Reform provisions and to provide a discussion forum on proposals for continuing passported benefits following the introduction of PIP. The event was attended by a wide range of voluntary organisations representing disability groups and there was strong support for continuing the passporting arrangements from PIP.

The Scope of the EQIA

There were 263,045 Blue Badges on issue in Scotland as at 31 March 2012. 125,534 of these badges were awarded through the passporting arrangements without further assessment, including those in receipt of HRMC DLA.

The policy change will impact on only those disabled people of working age who currently passport to a Blue Badge from HRMC DLA and are reassessed for PIP or new Blue Badge applicants in receipt of PIP.

It is estimated that between October 2013 and 2018, DWP will reassess approximately 100,000 people in Scotland who are currently in receipt of HRMC DLA for the new welfare reform benefit, PIP. DWP have estimated the proportion of reassessments resulting in an increased or decreased award.

Current estimates are that around 60% (60,000) of those in receipt of HRMC DLA take up their entitlement to a Blue Badge. Assuming reassessment of those in receipt of HRMC DLA follows a similar pattern to DWP estimates for overall PIP reassessments, the following outcomes may be expected:

43% may have an unchanged or increased award from DWP and retain their link to the Blue Badge.
29% may receive a decreased award. However we have mitigated for this by setting the criteria for passporting at 8 points or more for the "moving around" activity. This is comparable to the current arrangement and will ensure that the majority will continue to passport.
27% may not receive a PIP award and will therefore not qualify for a Blue Badge via the passporting route.

Key Findings

The policy impacts on disability, age and gender equality groups but has no impact on people because of gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race, religion and belief.

The different arrangements for disabled people of working age who will in future passsport from the new benefit award PIP (as opposed to passporting from DLA for those disabled persons under 16 or over 64) is not an impact of our policy change but as a consequence of the UK Welfare Reforms.

The Welfare Reform (Consequential Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2013 have extended the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Regulations 2000 to ensure that those disabled individuals of working age (both men and women) in receipt of PIP at a specific level can passport automatically to a Blue Badge. This is a positive policy development and allows these disabled individuals to passport in the same way that those under 16 and those over 64 will continue to passport from DLA. This means they will receive a Blue Badge without further assessment by the local authority.

If the Regulations had not been amended to introduce the passport, disabled individuals would not be able to passport automatically and would be required to apply for a Blue Badge through the other Blue Badge Scheme criteria and have to undertake a further assessment by the local authority to determine their eligibility.

Transitional arrangements will allow those who have been in receipt of HRMC DLA, but following reassessment by DWP do not qualify for PIP or receive a PIP award which does not meet the passporting criteria contained in the Regulations, to retain their Blue Badges until the original expiry date on their badge.

Those who do not qualify for a Blue Badge through passporting from PIP will be able to apply to the local authority through the other Blue Badge eligibility criteria which has similar mobility descriptors to passporting benefits. If they do not qualify for a Blue Badge they may be entitled to concessionary fares or directed to other support services by the local authority.

The assumption is that the policy will not impact on men and women in different ways as the DWP will assess men and women for the mobility component of PIP in the same way. However as 62% of working age Blue Badge holders are female as opposed to 38% who are men (because they generally live longer and are more likely to present with a disbility) there will be a slightly higher impact on women than men. That however is not a direct impact of the introduction of passporting arrangements in the Blue Badge Scheme as there is no evidence of any direct barriers to men when applying for a Blue Badge. It might be the case that women are more proactive generally in seeking medical treatment, advice and assistance and following up on benefit entitlement and concessions such as applying for a Blue Badge.

Recommendations and Conclusion

The policy change will impact positively on disabled people of working age (both men and women) as the amended regulations ensure that they will be able to passport to a Blue Badge if they receive certain components of PIP, which we believe most closely correspond to current HRMC DLA.

By matching the criteria as closely as possible, the aim has been to maintain consistency and fairness across all eqality groups in the Blue Badge Scheme and to achieve equivalency between those disabled individuals in receipt of welfare benefits and those who apply for a Blue Badge through the other eligibility criteria for a Blue Badge.

To signpost to passported benefits, we have requested that DWP include the Blue Badge Scheme in the list that will appear in the PIP award letters and the letters informing people that they will not be awarded PIP.

We anticipate that any significant impacts of the welfare reform changes on the Blue Badge Scheme will not arise until at least 2015, when the reassessment of existing DLA claimants are due to be rolled out.

We will monitor the changes by seeking feedback from stakeholder groups on the effects of the new passporting arrangements. We will also work with operational colleagues to determine how best to monitor any effect the policy change may have on local authority front line staff and Independent Mobility Assessors. We are updating the Blue Badge Improvement Service (BBIS) IT systems and application process and issuing guidance to inform front line staff of the changes to the eligibility criteria.

Information has been added to our website to raise public awareness of the changes and the information booklet issued to Blue Badge applicants will be updated accordingly.

While developing our policy we have given due regard to the following needs in respect of the protected characteristics:

to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation;
to advance equality of opportunity; and
to foster good relations.