Disabled pensioner has concession revoked

Annabel Bailey, aged 73, was issued with a Blue Badge permit in 2008 following a hip replacement and the development of osteoarthritis in her lower spine.
Since then she has had the other hip and a knee replaced.
Mrs Bailey, who lives in Great Shefford, said: “I therefore don’t understand why my badge can’t be renewed as my condition has not improved and will not do so in any way in the future.
Nevertheless, West Berkshire Council’s highways and transport department has refused to renew it, citing new Department for Transport criteria.
Mrs Bailey said: “It would seem that I now don’t tick enough boxes.”
She said that, when she travels to shop in Newbury, “by the time I return to my car after 20 minutes or so the pain in my back is such that I cannot perform the contortions necessary to get into the car unless the door is fully open. This is only possible in a ‘disabled’ space.”
Asked to intervene on Mrs Bailey’s behalf, Newbury MP Richard Benyon said: “I feel it is the wrong decision.”
He has written to the council’s highways and transport chief, Mark Edwards, pleading with him to reconsider - but in vain.
Mr Edwards wrote: “The score (you) produced at the Independent Mobility Assessment fell short of the qualifying score. You were scored at an eight, while the qualifying score is 12.”
Mrs Bailey pointed out: “The transport department issued guidelines, not rules, and I feel someone should be able to use their discretion. I will also not be able to use my Blue Badge to use the shopmobility buggies. I will lose my independence and quality of life.”
Her husband said: “I don’t understand why this is being decided by the highways and transport department, rather than by social services.”
However, two appeals to the council have been exhausted.
In his latest response to Mrs Bailey, Mr Edwards wrote: “I realise that you have held a Blue Badge for the last six years and that the refusal of your latest application has caused you distress. “However, your application has been assessed under the guidelines of the Blue Badge Improvement System that was implemented by the Department for Transport.”
He added: “This system has seen the introduction of revised eligibility assessments that are more stringent than before and I regret that your application under the new guidelines has been unsuccessful.”
His letter concluded: “You may re-apply for a Blue Badge in three months time. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful.”
Mrs Bailey said she has now written to Minister for Transport John Hayes but has yet to receive a reply.