British disability blue badges are no longer being recognised in major holiday destinations across Europe thanks to Brexit, the government has admitted.
Automatic recognition for Britain’s 2.4 million blue badge holders – a perk of EU membership – stopped across Europe on 31 December 2020 when the EU transition period ended.
Ministers promised to negotiate individual deals with EU countries to recognise British badges, but a year on they have failed to do so for the most popular destinations.
Travellers with disabilities still face uncertainty and inconvenience in countries including France, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal – all of which are still in talks with the UK government over the issue.
The countries are believed to be resistant to recognising British badges because it is difficult for local officials and parking wardens to verify the authenticity of non-EU badges, a problem EU badges do not have because they are of a common design and part of the same scheme.
Recommended Christmas shoppers warned about post-Brexit charges on orders from EU Travel to Europe: the post-Brexit passport rules Government delays key Brexit border checks
More than 40 million UK visitors travelled to the missing countries in 2019 before the pandemic hit, accounting for nearly half of all visits abroad by British residents worldwide.
With international travel off the agenda for most people due to the Covid pandemic, the issue has so far slipped under the radar. But disability access campaigners said the government was in danger of letting disabled people down and making it harder for them to travel when normal service resumes.
The situation is so uncertain that ministers now recommend that anyone with mobility problems travelling abroad should check with the embassy of the country they are travelling to.
In a written answer to a parliamentary question seen by The Independent, transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the government was continuing “to engage in discussions with a number of countries” about the issue.
But he declined to comment on the detail of the negotiations, beyond stating that the government “remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued blue badges for visiting motorists”.
Blue badges entitle people with mobility difficulties to use disabled parking spaces. When Britain left the EU, the design of the British badge was changed to remove the EU flag – but along with the redesign went the right for it to be automatically recognised.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said blue badge holders should now check with the embassy of their destination country before travelling to see what the local policy was. A full list of countries’ policies has also been published on Gov.UK.
When The Independent first approached the DfT about the issue, countries that had not said they would recognise the UK badge were marked under the heading “UK blue badge recognised” as “no”. However the page has since been updated and those countries have now been re-marked as “undecided”.
Other countries that have not yet said they will accept UK badges include Slovenia, Romania, Luxembourg, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, told The Independent: “For many disabled people, a car with a blue badge is the only option for being able to leave home. The Blue Badge enables visits to family and friends, trips to shops, restaurants and cinemas, and visits to the doctor or hospital.”
She said it was “essential that the government ensures that blue badges are recognised across Europe to ensure that disabled people enjoy the same opportunities to travel”.
Baroness Sal Brinton, the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesperson in the House of Lords, said: “It is deeply disappointing that the government appear to have let this issue drop down their agenda.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queen’s Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London
Getty
UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip
PA
UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester
PA
UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge.
Getty
UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year
PA
UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton
PA
UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election
PA
UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds
PA
UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds,
PA
UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
PA
UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service
PA
UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine
PA
UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow
PA
UK news in pictures 6 December 2021 A person tries to avoid sea spray on New Brighton promenade in Wallasey as the UK readies for the arrival of Storm Barra
Getty
UK news in pictures 5 December 2021 People release balloons during a tribute to six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes outside Emma Tustin's former address in Solihull, West Midlands, where he was murdered by his stepmother
PA
UK news in pictures 4 December 2021 People walk through a Christmas market in Trafalgar Square
Reuters
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 2 December 2021 Duchess of Cambridge inspects a Faberge egg at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Getty
UK news in pictures 1 December 2021 Meerkats at London Zoo with an advent calendar
PA
UK news in pictures 30 November 2021 Workers put the finishing touches to the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree ahead of the lighting ceremony later in the week
PA
UK news in pictures 29 November 2021 Home Secretary Priti Patel is greeted by a police dog at a special memorial service for Met Police Sergeant Matiu Ratana
Getty
UK news in pictures 28 November 2021 Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City battles for possession with Aaron Cresswell of West Ham United during a match at the Etihad during snow
Manchester City/Getty
UK news in pictures 27 November 2021 Residents clear branches from a fallen tree in Birkenhead, north west England as “Storm Arwen” triggered a rare “red weather” warning
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 An aerial picture shows a worker using a quad bike and trailer to transport freshly harvested trees at Pimms Christmas Tree farm in Matfield, southeast England
AFP via Getty
UK news in pictures 26 November 2021 A shopper browses Christmas trees for sale at Pines and Needles in Dulwich, London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 25 November 2021 A murmuration of hundreds of thousands of starlings fly over a field at dusk in Cumbria, close to the Scottish border
PA
UK news in pictures 3 December 2021 A pedestrian carries a dog as they dodge shoppers on Oxford Street in central London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 24 November 2021 Migrants are helped ashore from a RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) lifeboat at a beach in Dungeness, on the south-east coast of England, on November 24, 2021, after being rescued while crossing the English Channel.
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 23 November 2021 The coffin of Sir David Amess is carried past politicians, including former Prime Ministers Sir John Major, David Cameron and Theresa May, Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the requiem mass for the MP at Westminster Cathedral, central London
PA
UK news in pictures 22 November 2021 The scene in Dragon Rise, Norton Fitzwarren, Somerset where police have launched a murder probe after two people were found dead
Tom Wren/SWNS
UK news in pictures 21 November 2021 London-based midwife Sarah Muggleton, 27, takes part in a 'March with Midwives' in central London to highlight the crisis in maternity services
PA
UK news in pictures 20 November 2021 Police officers monitor as climate change activists sit down and block traffic during a protest action in solidarity with activists from the Insulate Britain group who received prison terms for blocking roads, on Lambeth Bridge in central London
AFP via Getty Images
UK news in pictures 19 November 2021 A giant installation of Prime Minister Boris Johnson made from recycled clothing goes on display at Manchester Central, as part of Manchester Art Fair, in a 'wake-up call for the Prime Minister to tackle textile waste'
PA
UK news in pictures 18 November 2021 The scene at a recycling centre in Stert, near Devizes in Wiltshire after a large blaze was brought under control. The fire broke out on Wednesday night the fire service has said and local residents were advised to keep windows and doors shut due to large amounts of smoke
PA
UK news in pictures 17 November 2021 The sun rises over South Shields Lighthouse, on the North East coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 16 November 2021 ancer Maithili Vijayakumar at the launch of 2021 Diwali celebrations at St Andrew Square in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 15 November 2021 Forensic officers work outside Liverpool Women's Hospital, following a car blast, in Liverpool
Reuters
UK news in pictures 14 November 2021 Wreaths by the Cenotaph after the Remembrance Sunday service in Whitehall, London
PA
UK news in pictures 13 November 2021 Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is ending his hunger strike in central London after almost three weeks. Ratcliffe has spent 21 days camped outside the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London without food. He began his demonstration on 24 October after his wife lost her latest appeal in Iran, saying his family was “caught in a dispute between two states”
PA
UK news in pictures 12 November 2021 Peter Green protesting outside the Cop26 gates during the official final day of the Cop26 summit in Glasgow.
PA
UK news in pictures 11 November 2021 Seagulls fly around the statue entitled 'Tommy', a first World War soldier by artist Ray Lonsdale at dawn in Seaham, Britain
Reuters
“Disabled people already face a huge wave of difficulties others do not when trying to travel, either for work or for a holiday and this is yet another barrier for them.”
Baroness Brinton, who herself uses a wheelchair, added: “By failing to secure a reciprocal deal on blue badge use, the Conservatives are letting disabled people down. The UK government should renew their focus – reaching an agreement is clearly in everyone's interest.”
Some British local authorities also refuse to accept non-UK blue badges from outside the EU. The reasoning given by one north London council is that “disabled badges from outside the EU vary in design and it is hard to verify their authenticity” – a concern at the heart of EU objections to recognising British badges.
Recommended Brexit job shortages hit Trump’s Scottish golf resorts Most voters say Brexit has gone badly, new poll finds Care workers to be added to shortage occupation list
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “It has always been the case that disabled drivers should check the local rules in the country they are travelling in before using a disabled parking card abroad.
“Negotiations on blue badge recognition are ongoing between the UK and individual EU states, and motorists can always contact their embassy for advice or assistance if they need it.”