In recent years, the number of people receiving disabled parking permits has increased significantly. This has raised questions about whether the criteria are too broad, causing too many people to get permits, whether there are too few P-marked spaces, or if something else is the cause.

At the spring session, Sigmundur Ernir Rúnarsson submitted the following question to the Minister of Health regarding parking permits for the disabled.

1. What general medical criteria does the national public health authority use when evaluating applications for disabled parking permits?

Response of the Minister of Health: The Office of the Chief Medical Officer does not issue formal criteria to be used as a basis for evaluating applications for disabled parking permits. The County Governor of the Capital Region has issued procedural guidelines for the issuance of parking permits in consultation with the Agency, based on Regulation No. 1130/2016 on the Issuance and Use of Parking Permits for Persons with Disabilities, which came into effect in January 2020. The medical certificate for parking permit applications contains the medical criteria and conditions, which were updated in conjunction with the issuance of the procedures by the county commissioner.

2. Does the minister consider those criteria sufficiently clear in light of the significant increase in issued status certificates?

Minister of Health's Response: Since the agency has not issued formal criteria, the minister cannot take a position on whether they are sufficiently clear. However, general medical criteria are set forth in the medical certificate for a parking permit. However, the medical certificate is only one of the factors considered when determining whether to issue a parking permit. The applicant must personally state in their application the reasons for a special need for an exemption to park in disabled parking spaces. Therefore, the medical criteria for issuing parking permits are relatively broad.

It should be noted that the Health Care Development Center was referred to regarding the review of the criteria. It can be questioned whether the Health Care Development Center should have this task, or if the Minister of Health and her ministry would be better suited for it.

According to Sjálfsbjörg, the National Federation of the Disabled, the distribution of parking permits is a responsibility; after all, they are a limited resource, so to speak. Parking permits are intended for those who have limited mobility and have difficulty walking long distances or using regular parking spaces due to a disability or serious health condition. The following groups fall under this category:

People with permanent or long-term mobility impairment.

People who need to use a wheelchair, walkers, or other similar assistive devices.

People with serious heart or lung diseases that limit walking ability.

People with other disabilities/illnesses that cause significant difficulty getting around without access to designated parking spaces.

The right to a parking permit is not based solely on a visible disability or whether a person uses a wheelchair. A person with an invisible disability may need a parking permit; however, they do not need a wide P-space if they do not use a wheelchair or walker!

There seems to be a misunderstanding about who is entitled to parking permits. Not everyone with a diagnosis that falls under the concept of disability is entitled to receive a parking permit, so it is important that the criteria are clear.