Sir – Yet again the disabled community is being targeted as a soft option for spending cuts. 

I refer to Craven District Council’s proposal to charge “Blue Badge” holders for parking in car parks. This policy would disadvantage Blue Badge holders who need their cars and a safe and convenient place to park and would lead to increased social isolation of this group.

Blue Badge holders need more time to go about their errands owing to their reduced mobility. Few can use public transport as an alternative or make use of concessionary travel and for many disabled people, street parking and passing traffic would put them at risk.

There are two laws against discriminatory policies – the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Equality Act 2010. These impose a “public sector equality duty” on councils and non-compliance could be challenged in the courts. Craven District Council would be well advised to re-think their discriminatory policy in order to avoid costly law-suits trying to defend it.

Phil Witten, Skipton