Increasing demand after the pandemic

Hampshire County Council now receives more than 30,000 Blue Badge applications each year, and noticed a significant increase in the wake of Covid-19. Even before that, the extension of eligibility to people with cognitive impairments had increased applications volumes by 6%. This change made the system much fairer but also added to the administration.

Managing a high volume of emails

Since February 2019, Hampshire has been using our Blue Badge CMS successfully to process applications. However, with tight guidance around supporting evidence, as many as 50% of new applicants need to be contacted by email and asked to supply different or additional documentation. Once received, the team would then manually transfer these documents to the CMS. With renewals also requiring a new photo each time, the admin burden was growing.

We wanted to reduce the pressure on Blue Badge teams, so we developed a new Uploader module that allows citizens to submit their documents and information directly into their application. It means local authorities don’t have to download information from citizens’ emails and upload it into the CMS.

Making it easier with the Uploader

Since February 2023, Hampshire has been using the new Uploader module. With a series of templates available for common requests, the team can request evidence easily. Applicants can add comments alongside the documentation they submit, and all information is taken seamlessly into the CMS, with the team notified that there’s something to review. After a quick check that everything’s in place, the application can be moved to the next stage.

Using the new Uploader for our Blue Badge CMS has reduced the time it takes the council to manage a communication with a customer by up to 70%.

Continuing to benefit from earlier changes

At the end of 2020, we also helped Hampshire to make the most of our ‘LA stages’ functionality. This lets councils add codes to applications to define exactly where they are in the application process,  for example cases that are waiting for supporting evidence or those waiting for a panel review. The team can now prioritise work more effectively and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.