Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to set criteria for a minimum number of parking bays designated for blue badge holders in (a) new and (b) existing developments.

When commenced, the reasonable adjustments to common parts duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the 2010 Act) will require landlords to make reasonable adjustments to the communal or shared areas of residential properties, when requested to do so by a qualifying disabled resident. Outdoor areas such as car parks are within the scope of the provision and therefore, if the request for a designated parking bay is reasonable, this would be a required adaptation under section 36 of the 2010 Act, once fully commenced.

The parking concessions provided under the Blue Badge Scheme only apply to on-street parking and not to off-street car parks. Currently, both local authorities and private parking operators are already required under the 2010 Act to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people and to provide them equal opportunities to access services. This is an anticipatory duty and is seen in the Blue Badge Scheme and in the provision of wider bays for ease of access.

Although operators of private car parks are required to make reasonable adjustments, the form that those adjustments take is up to individual operators, who can best judge what is appropriate within their car parks.