To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether an impact assessment has been conducted for those proposals in the Blue Badge Reform Strategy relating to local authorities’ ability to charge badge application fees; and if he will make a statement. (230109)

The Blue Badge Reform Strategy contains an impact assessment for all of our proposals.

The application fee has been capped at £2 since 1983 and no longer reflects modern costs and income. We estimate that the average application processing cost is now £14.47 per badge.

We plan to legislate to enable local authorities to set their own fees, which cover these costs more appropriately. The legislation will protect against any excessive charging.

Any future charges will be far outweighed by the financial benefits that badge holders receive in being able to park for free across the UK.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set for bringing forward legislative proposals to enact the commitments made in the Blue Badge Reform Strategy to extend the scheme to certain groups hitherto excluded; and if he will make a statement. (230110)

The strategy contains a broad suite of commitments, which will be implemented over the next five years. We are in the process of developing a project implementation plan, which will set out our time line for delivery in full. Our progress in delivering on our commitments will be overseen by a high level steering group comprised of independent representatives from outside of Government.