Mohammed Nahid Ahmed Ifthi v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Mohammed Nahid Ahmed Ifthi, was training to become an approved driving instructor. He had already been granted two trainee driving instructor licences, covering twelve months in total from 6 January 2025 to 5 January 2026, the purpose of such a licence being to enable a candidate to gain sufficient practical experience to pass the Part 3 test. He applied on 7 December 2025 for a third trainee licence. The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused that application by a decision dated 11 February 2026, taking the view that no evidence of lost training time had been produced, that twelve months was more than adequate, that Parliament had not intended a trainee licence to be issued for however long it took a candidate to pass the Part 3 test, that the system must not become an alternative to full registration, and that a trainee licence was not necessary in order to sit the Part 3 test. The appellant had failed the Part 3 test on 9 July 2025 and 22 January 2026, with his third and final permitted attempt booked for 15 October 2026. He appealed by notice dated 24 February 2026, relying on the birth of his first child in early September 2025 and the consequent loss of training time, and on the costs of remaining a trainee. The Registrar was not represented at the hearing.