Qodsia Heydari v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Qodsia Heydari, was first entered on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors in March 2025. On 15 August 2025 she was issued with a fixed penalty notice, which she accepted, for a CU80 offence of breach of requirements as to control of the vehicle, such as using a mobile phone, contrary to section 41D of the Road Traffic Act 1988, attracting six penalty points. The DVLA notified the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors, who wrote to the appellant on 28 November 2025 giving notice that he was considering removing her name from the Register. She made representations on 7 December 2025. On 29 December 2025 the Registrar notified her that her name should be removed on the ground that she had ceased to be a fit and proper person, though removal was not to take immediate effect. She appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber), contending that the offence was an isolated incident in unusual circumstances, that six points for a single incident did not of itself show she was no longer fit and proper, that removal was disproportionate, that she had taken steps to secure her equipment and posed no ongoing risk, and that she was a single parent who had experienced domestic abuse and would be severely affected. The Registrar resisted the appeal. The hearing took place by Cloud Video Platform.