These Regulations amend the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles (Scotland) Regulations 2000 (“the 2000 Regulations”). Those Regulations deal with what is known as the “blue badge” scheme.

Regulation 4 of the 2000 Regulations is amended so as to create two new categories of disabled person who are to be eligible for a blue badge. Both categories cover people who were in receipt of the higher rate of the mobility component of the disability living allowance, but are no longer getting that allowance following an assessment for the purposes of deciding eligibility for personal independence payment. The first new category covers those who have made a request to the Secretary of State for a revision of the decision on eligibility for personal independence payment, so long as that request wasn’t made any earlier than a year before the person’s existing blue badge expired or any earlier than a year before the application for a blue badge was made. The second new category covers those whose previous disability living allowance award was originally made without limit of time.

Regulation 6 of the 2000 Regulations is amended so as to provide that badges issued to those in the first new category mentioned above are valid for 1 year. Special provision is also included in regulation 6 to deal with the situation of a person who holds an award of disability living allowance which has been extended pending completion of an assessment of the person’s eligibility for personal independence payment. Any new blue badge issued to such a person will be valid for 3 years or, if shorter, the period equivalent to that which the previous award of disability living allowance was made for.