Stevenson Emphasises Dignity for Disabled People Through New Bill

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast spoke yesterday (Tuesday) in support of new legislation that aims to tackle the misuse of the Blue Badge scheme.

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The Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Bill aims to improve the quality of life for disabled people by freeing up parking spaces for legitimate Blue Badge users.

Mr Stevenson explained that for disabled drivers this change will mean more than simply a place to park, but rather an increase in dignity.

He said:

“The core of the Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Bill is to improve life for people with some disability that requires them to have help with parking. We need to think in terms of the dignity of the people who have a disability.

“When we ensure that there is…an actual parking place for someone who needs it because they are disabled, we confer upon that person the dignity that we are all entitled to expect. I think that the bill is excellent because it ensures that we share more widely the dignity to which we are all entitled.”

Mr Stevenson also recognised the importance of carefully enforcing the new legislation.

He added:

“Quite properly, Inclusion Scotland has focused on the potential for enforcement officers, traffic wardens and policemen to confiscate blue badges unnecessarily and inappropriately. I think that Inclusion Scotland has a valid point. That is why, in the introduction of an enforcement regime that will contribute enormously to people with disabilities, we need to be careful how we do it.”