One Year On And One Million Blue Badges Printed

Payne Security, part of the Blue Badge Improvement Service has now delivered over one million high quality and secure Blue Badges to eligible holders across the UK since the service went live in January 2012. The Blue Badge Improvement Service (BBIS) was set up by the Department for Transport (DfT), who awarded a contract to Northgate Public Services and Payne Security to supply disabled parking permits to eligible members of the public throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Payne Security is responsible for the printing, personalisation, production and distribution of the completely re-designed badge, which contains enhanced security features, making the new badge very difficult to copy. At the recent 2012 UK IT Industry Awards DfT, Northgate Public Services and Payne Security were awarded with the accolade of IT Project Team of the Year. The award was presented in the Organisational Excellence category for successfully implementing the new national IT system, which is now deployed by all 206 local authorities throughout England, Scotland and Wales. Sue Holloway, Director of Services Strategy for Northgate Public Services, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this award in recognition for our work to transform a key public service that millions of people rely on. “The expertise and dedication of those working on the project right from the start ensured it was delivered on time and under budget.” “We have built an excellent working relationship with Payne Security, DfT and the Scottish and Welsh Governments. Every local authority signed up to use the service and the dedication and commitment from IT teams across all of these organisations ensured a successful implementation.” Simon Jones, General Manager, Card Solutions at Payne Security said: “The partnership between Northgate, Payne Security and DfT has helped deliver a system which will provide measurable benefits for local authorities and for eligible Blue Badge holders.” It is estimated that Blue Badge fraud – including the fraudulent reproduction of badges – was costing in the region of £46million each year, as the previous badge was relatively easy to copy. Payne Security used its extensive experience gained in producing internationally recognised security features for ID and secure document components to raise the level of security features on the new badge, which makes it very difficult to reproduce. The new system is already leading to significant improvements in the way local authorities issue Blue Badges. Previously local authorities were using a number of different platforms to administer the scheme but with the introduction of BBIS, local authorities are now adopting a nationally available online application form, which local people can use to apply or report lost or stolen badges.