Ian Halford v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Ian Halford, is a trainee driving instructor who had been granted a trainee licence under section 129 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for a six-month period, and then a second such licence for a further six months. To qualify as an Approved Driving Instructor a candidate must pass the Qualifying Examination in three parts: 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. The appellant had not passed the final part within the relevant period, and on 9 April 2026 the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused his application for a third trainee licence, on the basis that insufficient evidence of loss of training time had been supplied and that he had had long enough to progress. By a notice of appeal dated 20 April 2026 the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, relying on an arm injury requiring plastic surgery which he said had affected his ability to train, and on having missed a test because he had to look after his grandchildren. The medical evidence concerned a donkey bite sustained at a farm on 30 May 2025. He had failed his Part 3 examination on 26 March 2026. Both parties agreed to determination on the papers.