Everyone parking in a council car park or at roadside pay & display parking may have noticed that parking is free for people deemed to be so severely disabled that they are exempt from their vehicle tax. Since the scrapping of vehicle tax disks there has been a worry that this small benefit to disabled people may be stopped. I wrote to my MP querying this at the time. He & I were assured that all a council had to do was to contact DVLC to confirm a vehicle registration was indeed a vehicle driven by or carrying a disabled person and exempt from vehicle tax. This is also the same for NHS hospitals who charge for parking but until now have been free parking for tax exempt vehicles. For a person to be tax exempt on their main vehicle they are not just disabled but they are severely disabled. A lot of them are ex forces men and women who are disabled from injuries received in protecting this country in the line of duty. Free parking is not a big benefit but it is essential to people who may have to park closer to their destination and be away from their vehicle a lot longer than an able person. Councils are going to take away the right for free parking for this vulnerable section of the community because they refuse to pay for the software that enables them to check with the DVLA on the tax exemption. This software should and must be free to councils & hospital car park officials. Please help by signing this petition to ensure the government make this software free to relevant councils & hospitals to retain this necessary benefit.