London Borough of Lambeth: ‘Accessible Lambeth: Blue Badge Awareness & Action’ campaign

London Borough of Lambeth: ‘Accessible Lambeth: Blue Badge Awareness & Action’ campaign

About London Borough of Lambeth

London Borough of Lambeth is the South London council that covers the Lambeth area, including Streatham, Brixton, Vauxhall, Clapham and West Norwood. 

The challenge

The campaign sought to address Blue Badge crime, which has more than quadrupled over the last 10 years. Blue badge misuse presents a significant barrier to the independence of the 2 .6 million disabled motorists who use the scheme and rely on it to travel to work, to carry out everyday tasks and to socialise. 

The issue tends to go under-reported and under-addressed, with many councils having little or limited Blue Badge enforcement in place. 

The project

Led by Lambeth Council’s Parking Fraud Team, the ‘Accessible Lambeth: Blue Badge Awareness & Action’ was a collaboration between advocacy groups, disabled residents and councils to raise awareness, improve enforcement standards and empower disabled people to protect their mobility rights. 

Recognising that tackling Blue Badge crime would require collective action, London Borough of Lambeth built the campaign as a national collaborative network. Their campaign was the first of its kind to create a national platform of forums and workshops that brought councils across the UK together to share best practice and drive positive change.  

A cornerstone of the campaign was the annual ‘Day of Action’ initiative: nationwide events breaking new ground by incorporating live enforcement activities alongside public education efforts. Councils, enforcement officers and disabled residents all participated to the events to collectively address Blue Badge misuse.  

Lambeth Borough Council worked closely with disabled residents and disability organisations, such as Disability Motoring UK, to understand the unique challenges that disabled people face around Blue Badge crime. Disabled people played a key role in co-creating messaging and materials to promote the campaign and were fully involved in its annual ‘Day of Action’. The Council also maintained an open feedback loop with disabled stakeholders throughout the campaign, adapting their approach based on their input.

The result

The campaign’s success has inspired other local authorities to replicate this approach. 142 councils have signed up to support the campaign since it was launched 3 years ago. 

Participating councils report a 20% decrease in Blue Badge misuse. This represents a seismic shift for disabled motorists, one that validates their experiences and prioritises their needs. 

Going forward

Through its campaign, Lambeth Borough Council has set a precedent for council collaboration, which has since led to greater co-working on other accessibility issues. 

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