Overview

• England has 2.84 million Blue Badge holders but only about 43,600 local authority bays, equating to roughly one space for every 52 permit holders.
• More than 700,000 penalty charge notices were issued for badge misuse over the past three years, and serious breaches risk fines of up to £1,000.
• Recent Freedom of Information data shows Sandwell offers 242 bays for 17,881 holders, Walsall provides 95 for 17,109 drivers, and Wolverhampton has 740 spaces for 13,067 permit holders.
• Over a third of Blue Badge holders report arriving to find designated bays occupied by drivers without a valid permit.
• Applications rose 31% between 2022 and 2024, and councils rejected nearly 250,000 requests during the same period, intensifying competition for limited bays.