Blue badge scheme is extended to those with 'hidden disabilities'

Who is eligible for a blue badge?

Some people are automatically able to get a blue badge. You'll be able to get one if you:

• Are registered as blind.
• Get the higher rate of the mobility component of disability living allowance (DLA).
• Get personal independence payment (PIP) and scored eight points or more in the 'moving around' area of your assessment – check your decision letter if you're not sure.
• Get war pensioners' mobility supplement.
  
• Received a lump sum payment as part of the armed forces compensation scheme (tariffs one to eight), and have been certified as having a permanent and substantial disability.

If you don't meet this criteria you might still be able to get a badge, but you'll have to fill in an extra part of the application to show why you need one. Under the new guidance, eligibility for permits will be extended to those with hidden disabilities, including:

• People who cannot travel without risk of serious harm to their health and safety or someone else's (such as young children with autism).
  
• People who cannot travel without "very considerable psychological distress".
  
• People who have very considerable difficulty when walking, meaning "both the physical act and experience of walking".

A full description of the rules can be found on the Government website.