Alastair Readman v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Mr Alastair Readman, is a trainee driving instructor who has never been entered on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors. To qualify as an approved driving instructor a candidate must pass a three-part Qualifying Examination — the written examination, the driving ability and fitness test, and the instructional ability and fitness test — with three attempts permitted at each part and the whole examination to be completed within two years of passing Part 1. Having passed the driving ability test, the appellant was granted two trainee licences under s.129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 running from 1 February 2023 to 12 February 2024, and a further two valid from 11 November 2024 to 10 November 2025. On 6 November 2025 he applied for a third licence. The Registrar wrote on 8 December 2025 indicating that refusal was under consideration, and the appellant made representations received on 17 December 2025, saying that ill-health had disrupted his training, that he had postponed his Part 3 test and that he had booked further training. The Registrar refused the application and gave notice of that decision by email dated 3 February 2026 under s.129(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988. The appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, which heard the matter by Cloud Video Platform.