MORE than 100 cars have been uplifted in city council car parks due to suspected abuse of disabled badges.

City Parking has been using new laws to crack down on the fraudulent users with 120 cars removed.

But not all were towed – there were 972 suspected mis-used blue badges in 2017/18, most of which were confiscated by staff.

City Parking caught fewer misusages of the disabled blue badge in the last year than previous years.

Anna Richardson, City Convener for Sustainability and Carbon Reduction, said: “A blue badge can be a lifeline for someone with a disability – giving them inclusive access to where they need and want to go in the city.

“Abuse of that system has a number of consequences – but one of the most significant is the impact it has on quality of life for legitimate badge-holders.

“This has been a long-running issue, across the country – but improvements to legislation mean we can now deal with cases of misuse far more effectively.”

Since April 2015, local authorities have been allowed to confiscate fraudulent disabled badges and those which they suspect are being misused.

City Parking has been working with the council’s land and environmental services department to ensure fraud motorists’ vehicles were impounded if not confiscated.

The total suspected misused or fraudulent badges is 972, a decrease from 1,041 in 2016/17 and 607 in 2015/16.

Parking attendants confiscated 356 blue badges, another decrease from 428 last year and 334 the year before.

The number of uplifts is also down from 217 last year and 159 in the period before.

Councillor Thomas Kerr said: “We support all efforts to clamp down on the misuse of blue badges in Glasgow.

“For those who need them these badges are a lifeline and as such we must be vigorous on taking action against those who abuse this lifeline service.

With blue badge holder spaces and on street parking often busy particularly in areas like the city centre, action like this ensures that only those with the right to use these spaces are doing so.”

The Operational Performance and Delivery Scrutiny Committee will discuss the numbers this week.