Dear Shropshire Council,

Please provide the following:

1. Blue Badge volumetrics

1.1 Please provide the following for the Blue Badge scheme for EACH of the last three calendar years:
1.1.1 Number of Blue Badge new applications split into automatically eligible and not automatically eligible.
1.1.2 Number of Blue Badge renewal applications split into automatically and not automatically eligible.
1.1.3 Number of new Blue Badges awarded split into automatically and not automatically eligible.
1.1.4 Number of renewal Blue Badges awarded split into automatically and not automatically eligible.
1.2 Please provide the number of Blue Badges issued for each month of 2015.
1.3 Please provide the estimated number of citizens served by the authority (i.e. in order to help assess the number of badges per head of population)

2. Service Delivery

2.1 Please provide the following for the calendar year of 2015:
2.1.1 How many reports of alleged misuse or fraud were recorded?
2.1.2 How many badges were either temporarily or permanently seized at the request of your authority?
2.1.3 How many seized badges were returned to the badge holder?
2.1.4 How many investigations into alleged misuse or fraud were undertaken that included following or photographing the ‘accused’?
2.1.5 How many court cases were undertaken for alleged misuse or fraud?
2.1.6 How many of these court cases resulted in a conviction?
2.2 What system is Blue Badge activity is logged on (i.e. is just BBIS used or is another system, such as CareFirst or similar, used)?
2.3 What part of the process, if any, is undertaken by an external provider?
2.4 What job titles are involved in providing the service, and how many full-time equivalents are there for each job title?
2.5 Which internal departments within the authority are involved in the process and what they do?
2.6 If any non-clinically qualified officers are involved in the initial application assessment (e.g. are contact centre/admin staff used to initially assess any applications for eligibility)?
2.7 What anti-fraud activity is regularly undertaken, and which departments undertake which activity?
2.8 Which officers seized the badges; e.g. Civil Enforcement Officers, External provider employees, Other internal authority officers, etc.?
2.9 Please provide a copy of your enforcement policy.

3. Complaints

3.1 Please provide the following for the calendar year of 2015:
3.1.1 Excluding appeals, how many complaints were made in relation to the Blue Badge scheme?
3.1.2 How many complaints included correspondence from/to an MP?
3.1.3 How many complaints included correspondence from/to a councillor?
3.1.4 How many complaints were partially or fully upheld?
3.2 Which team undertakes complaint investigations?
3.3 Which officer or ‘post’ is responsible for deciding whether or not the complaint should be upheld?
3.4 Please provide an example (suitably anonymised) of a complaint response where fault has been found with the authority.
3.5 What were the top five reasons for complaining in 2015, and what percentage of the total did each represent?
3.6 What were the top five reasons complaints were partially or fully upheld in 2015, and what percentage of the total partial/upheld did each represent?
3.7 Please provide the link to your complaints procedure.

4. Mobility Assessments

4.1 How many Blue Badge mobility assessments were undertaken in 2015?
4.2 Which department undertakes mobility assessments? If this is an external provider, please provide the name and contact details of the provider.
4.3 How many mobility assessments undertaken in 2015 resulted in a badge being awarded?
4.4 How many mobility assessments undertaken in 2015 did not result in a badge being awarded?
4.5 For each of the venues used for assessments in 2015, what was the percentage of the total assessments undertaken at each venue.
4.6 Do you accommodate applicants who are unable or unwilling to attend a mobility assessment? If so, how?
4.7 How many home visit mobility assessments were undertaken in 2015?
4.8 For mobility assessment undertaken in 2015, what was the average delay in working days between the date of application and the date of an applicant attending a mobility assessment?
4.9 The DfT guidance states that “a degree of “incline” and “decline” should be considered in the course of a mobility assessment” please describe how this is rigorously accommodated during your mobility assessments.
4.10 Please provide a map showing the outdoor walking route typically undertaken at each mobility assessment venue, showing the length of the route.
4.11 Do your assessors time any walking aspect of the mobility assessment? If so, how? If not, how do your assessors accurately judge the pace of walking?

5. Appeals

5.1 Please provide the following for the calendar year of 2015:
5.1.1 How many appeals against Blue Badge decisions were submitted?
5.1.2 How many appeals were partially or fully upheld?
5.1.3 How many partially or fully upheld appeals resulted in a Blue Badge being awarded to the appellant?
5.1.4 How many partially or fully upheld appeals related to incorrect assessment by qualified mobility assessors?
5.1.4 How many partially or fully upheld appeals related to incorrect assessment by administrative or contact centre staff?
5.1.4 How many partially or fully upheld appeals related to incorrect assessment by anyone else?
5.2 Which team undertakes appeals investigations? If this is an external provider, please provide the name and contact details of the provider.
5.3 What clinical/professional qualifications do officers that undertake appeals hold?
5.4 Which officer or ‘post’ is responsible for deciding whether or not the appeal should be upheld?
5.5 Are any non-professionally qualified officers involved in collating appeals investigation documentation? If so, please describe how.
5.6 What were the top five reasons that appeals were partially or fully upheld, and what percentage of the total partial/upheld did each represent?

6. Local Government Ombudsman Investigations

6.1 Please provide the following for the calendar year of 2015:
6.1.1 How many LGO investigations about the scheme were undertaken?
6.1.2 How many LGO investigations undertaken resulted in a decision that some maladministration had occurred?
6.1.3 How many maladministration decisions resulted in the complaint being awarded a Blue Badge?
6.1.4 How many maladministration decisions were primarily due to an error or omission by the qualified mobility assessor?
6.1.5 How many maladministration decisions were primarily due to an error or omission by administrative/contact centre staff?
6.1.6 How many maladministration decisions were primarily due to an error or omission by anyone else?
6.2 Please provide an example (suitably anonymised) of an LGO outcome letter where maladministration was found by the LGO.
6.2 Which team undertakes/collates LGO investigation documentation? If this is an external provider, please provide the name and contact details of the provider.
6.3 For LGO cases, is any review undertaken prior to submission to the LGO of the clinical/professional decisions made earlier in the process? If so, what qualifications do the officers undertaking the review hold?
6.4 What were the top five reasons that investigations resulted in the LGO deciding that some maladministration had occurred, and what percentage of the total maladministration cases did each represent?

7. Specific conditions

7.1 Many conditions can have an indirect impact on mobility. If an applicant states that their mobility is very significantly impacted as a result of any one of the following conditions (i.e. they have no other mobility impacting conditions), please provide a paragraph of at least 150 words for each condition that explains your approach to assessing the eligibility of such applicants:
7.1.1 Agoraphobia
7.1.2 Downs Syndrome
7.1.3 Irritable Bowel Syndrome
7.1.4 Incontinence
7.1.5 Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME)
7.2 How many Blue Badges were awarded during 2015 to applicants where agoraphobia was the primary reason for eligibility?
7.3 How many Blue Badges were awarded during 2015 to applicants where Down’s syndrome was the primary reason for eligibility?
7.4 How many Blue Badges were awarded during 2015 to applicants where irritable bowel syndrome was the primary reason for eligibility?
7.5 How many Blue Badges were awarded during 2015 to applicants where incontinence was the primary reason for eligibility?
7.6 How many Blue Badges were awarded during 2015 to applicants where chronic fatigue syndrome (ME) was the primary reason for eligibility?

I look forward to your response with anticipation.

Yours faithfully,

Max Peter

Dear Shropshire Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Shropshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Blu'.
I submitted my request on 4th February and received an acknowledgement the following day but have received no reply since then.
Please can you ensure that my request is dealt with promptly?
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/blu

Yours faithfully,

Max Peters