Disclosure Log

Blue Badge 2018 - 2026 (FOI/8098)

Message from Nottinghamshire County Council - 23 June 2026


Dear Requester,
Request FOI/8098
Further to your request received on 15th June 2026, I confirm that the Council has now considered your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Questions)
This is a freedom of information request regarding applications to the Blue Badge scheme since 2018.

I ask how many applications for blue badges have been made firstly in total since 2018, then broken down by each year following and including 2018 with the following information: 
  • Number of applications
  • Number of new applications approved
  • Number of new applications refused
  • Number of renewal applications approved
  • Number of renewal applications refused   
Answers)
Between 01/01/2018 and 31/05/2026 we received a total of 185,638 Blue Badge applications.

We do not currently record a separate figure for new and renewal refusals, and we are unable to obtain this information due to the way reporting has changed through the years. Instead, we have provided the total number of refusals for both new and renewal applications.

Broken down by each year following and including 2018, please see the following information:

 Between 01/01/2018 – 31/12/2018
  • Number of applications received - 18,866
  • Number of new applications approved - 4780
  • Number of renewal applications approved – 12,837
  • Number of applications refused - 643
Between 01/01/2019 – 31/12/2019
  • Number of applications received - 18,235
  • Number of new applications approved - 7106
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 9264
  • Number of applications refused - 2113
Between 01/01/2020 – 31/12/2020
  • Number of applications received - 15,995
  • Number of new applications approved - 4351
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 10,292
  • Number of applications refused - 1506
Between 01/01/2021 – 31/12/2021
  • Number of applications received - 19,179
  • Number of new applications approved - 5902
  • Number of renewal applications approved – 12,739
  • Number of applications refused - 1607
Between 01/01/2022 – 31/12/2022
  • Number of applications received - 22,080
  • Number of new applications approved - 7314
  • Number of renewal applications approved – 12,086
  • Number of applications refused – 2332
 Between 01/01/2023 – 31/12/2023
  • Number of applications received - 22,608
  • Number of new applications approved - 8719
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 11,027
  • Number of applications refused - 2520
Between 01/01/2024 – 31/12/2024
  • Number of applications received - 26,633
  • Number of new applications approved - 8674
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 13,246
  • Number of applications refused - 3398
Between 01/01/2025 – 31/12/2025
  • Number of applications received - 29,596
  • Number of new applications approved - 8652
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 15,636
  • Number of applications refused – 4046
Between 01/01/2026 – 31/05/2026
  • Number of applications received - 12,446
  • Number of new applications approved - 3712
  • Number of renewal applications approved - 6760
  • Number of applications refused - 2457

We hope you find this information useful.
The Council publishes Access to Information requests and responses on its online Disclosure Log. Only requests deemed to be in the public interest will be included and any request included within this log will be de-personalised accordingly.
To view the Council’s Disclosure Log, please visit our website.
Your privacy: we use your personal information such as name and address so that we can comply with our legal obligations to respond to FOI requests.  For further details about the use of information about you, please see the information handling privacy notice on our website at:
https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/media/4323566/informationgovernanceandinformationrightsprivacynotice.pdf
 
If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review.   Requests should be submitted within 40 working days of the date of receipt of the response to your original request and should be addressed to: Complaints and Information Team, Nottinghamshire County Council, County Hall, Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, NOTTINGHAM, NG2 7QP or [email protected].
 
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
 
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.  The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, SK9 5AF or https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/foi-and-eir-complaints/.

Yours sincerely



Freedom of Information
Complaints and Information Team
Chief Executives Department                                         
Nottinghamshire County Council
The Council is committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring all personal information is kept confidential and safe. For more details see our general and service specific privacy notices at: https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/global-content/privacy