Shafquat Akbar v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Shafquat Akbar, was 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. At the end of the relevant period he applied for a third trainee licence, which the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors refused by a decision of 12 March 2026. The Registrar's reasons, in summary, were that the appellant had not passed the final part of the ADI qualifying examination within the relevant period and that insufficient evidence of loss of training time had been supplied, the appellant having had long enough to progress. By a notice of appeal dated 24 March 2026 the appellant appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, saying that he had invested heavily in becoming an approved driving instructor, that there were long waits for test dates, that a family bereavement had required him to leave the country for an unspecified period, and that his franchise company had been inconsistent in supplying pupils, which affected his ability to train. In his appeal to the Registrar he had also raised potential human rights violations, contending that refusal of a third licence was disproportionate. The Registrar's response relied on the decision letter and recorded that the appellant had failed his Part 3 examination once, with no further test date given. Both parties agreed to determination on the papers.