Will Freeman v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors

Facts

The appellant, Mr Will Freeman, appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) against a decision of the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors. The judgment does not describe that decision, but it records that the appellant passed Part 1 of the test on 16 August 2024. On 24 August 2026 the Registrar applied to strike out the appeal under rule 8(3)(c) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009. The Registrar's case was that, because the appellant had passed Part 1 on 16 August 2024, he could no longer meet the condition in regulation 3(4)(c) of the Motor Cars (Driving Instruction) Regulations 2005. By a direction dated 2 September 2026, Judge Harris required the appellant to tell the Tribunal whether he wished to continue with the appeal and to make any representations on the strike-out application. The direction warned him that failing to do so could lead to his case being struck out. The appellant did not reply to the Tribunal. Instead, he wrote to the Registrar accepting that he had passed Part 1 more than two years earlier. He said it was unfair to take away his employment now because he had missed only two hours of online training before the deadline. The Registrar forwarded that email to the Tribunal, and the application was decided without a hearing.