Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increased coordination with the European Union on the mutual recognition of the Blue badge parking scheme for UK citizens travelling in EU member states.

This Government is committed to championing greater accessibility for disabled people and has informal reciprocal agreements in place with many other European countries so that Blue Badges can be used there; information and guidance on this can be found on GOV.UK. Those travelling overseas should always check local rules before using their Blue Badge abroad.

Through close engagement with our French friends and allies, this Government has now secured mutual recognition with them regarding our respective disabled parking permits. This means that UK Blue Badge holders can now travel with confidence when heading to France for their holidays or travel.The Department is currently working on a similar mutual recognition agreement with Spain, and we will update GOV.UK once this is finalised.