Julie Catherine Ellis v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

This appeal concerns a decision of the Respondent made on 7 February 2024 to refuse to grant the Appellant a third traineelicence.

The Appellant is trainee driving instructor who had been granted two trainee licences
under s.129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (‘the Act’) for the periods from 5 December 2022 to 4 June 2023 and from 3 July 2023 to 2 January 2024, respectively, but who was refused an application for a further trainee licence. (Further, she had previously been granted four trainee licences in an attempt to enable her to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor in the periods from June2018 to June2019 and May 2021 to May 2022, respectively).

The Respondent’s reasons for refusal, in summary, were that the Appellant had already
had time to gain sufficient experience to pass the final part of the Approved Driving Instructor qualifyingexamination.

The Appellant appealed the said decision of the Respondent to the Tribunal.

The Appellant’s Notice of Appeal, dated 19 February 2024, relied on an assertion that she, firstly, had difficulty undertaking regular provision of driving tuition due to an arm injury (but had been discharged from Orthopaedic care) and she had difficulty booking a test and wanted a trainee licence to remain in place until she had finished her training and succeeded in her test. She also maintained that unless she got a further trainee licence, she would become unemployed and have no income if she were not allowed to teach driving for payment. This last assertion had no relevance to the determination of this appeal.

The Response of the Respondent, dated 4 March 2024, essentially relied on the fact that thepurpose of a trainee licence was to gain practical experience of teaching pupils for payment in order to undergo the instructional ability examination and it was not intended that a trainee licence should be held for however long it took theAppellant to pass the Part 3 examination. In other words, a trainee licence could not be permitted to be an alternative to registration as an Approved Driving Instructor. These representations were noted, as was the fact that the Appellant had passed her driving ability test but had failed to pass her instructional ability test twice and that a final instructional ability test had not been booked by the Appellant. Moreover, the fact that the Appellant had applied for a third trainee licence before the expiry of her existing trainee licence meant that her existing trainee licence remained in force until the determination of this appeal. The Respondent also submitted that its decision to refuse the Appellant’s application for a third trainee licence was not a bar to her attempting another instructional ability test as she did not need a trainee licence to do so or to obtain further training through other routes – a course for which there is precedent.

The parties and the Tribunal agreed that this matter was suitable for determination on
the papers in accordance with Rule 32 of The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)
(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009, as amended (‘the Rules’). The Tribunal considered abundle containing 32 pages.

The grant of a trainee licence enables applicants to provide instruction for payment
before they are qualified. The circumstances in which trainee licences may be granted
are set out in s. 129 of the Act and the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations
2005 (‘the Regulations’).

A licence under section 129(1) of the Act is granted:

In order to qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor, applicants must pass the
Qualifying Examination. This comprises: the written examination (‘Part 1’); the driving
ability and fitness test (‘Part 2’); and the instructional ability and fitness test (‘Part 3’).

Three attempts are permitted at each part. The whole examination must be completed
within 2 years of passing Part 1, failing which the whole examination has to be retaken.

If a candidate has passed part 2, they may be granted a trainee licence. However,
holding a trainee licence is not a prerequisite to qualification as an Approved Driving
Instructor and many people qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor without having
held a trainee licence at all.

The powers of the Tribunal in determining this appeal are set out in s. 131 of the Act.
The Tribunal may make such order as it thinks fit.

When making its Decision, the Tribunal stands in the shoes of the Respondent and takes a fresh decision on the evidence available toit, giving appropriate weight to the Registrar’s decision as the person tasked by Parliament with making such decisions. The burden of proof in satisfying the Tribunalthat the Registrar’s decision was wrong rests with the Appellant.

The parties did not file any witness statements. I have seen the Appellant’s test
history; her application for the trainee licence previously granted; her application for a
second trainee licence, and the correspondence passing between the parties.

I have considered carefully all the papers before me. I note that the Appellant has
already had the benefit of six trainee licences in total, the last two covering a period of 12 months which is adequate to prepare for the Part 3 test. She is able to continue to gain experience andtake the test without a trainee licence, and it is not a substitute for taking and passingthe test. It is not the purpose of trainee licences to keep renewing them until allattempts at passing part 3 have been taken.

The Appellant has not persuaded me that the Respondent’s decision was wrong in any
way. In all the circumstances, I agree with the Respondent’s decision, and I dismissthis appeal.