Jonathan Peter Dowles v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors
[2024] UKFTT 453 (GRC)
Andrew Firman v The Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors
30 May 2024
[2024] UKFTT 454 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A driving instructor was kicked off the official register for speeding twice. Even though he's a generally good person, the judge said two speeding tickets showed he doesn't follow the rules, and that makes people lose trust in driving instructors. So the judge agreed that he should be removed from the register.
Key Facts
- •Andrew Firman appealed the Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors' decision to remove his name from the Register.
- •The removal was due to two speeding offences in 2022 and 2023.
- •Firman argued he is a fit and proper person and that the removal was harsh.
- •The Registrar failed to submit a response to the appeal.
- •The Tribunal considered the case via a paper hearing.
Legal Principles
Conditions for entry and retention on the Register require the applicant to be and continue to be a "fit and proper person".
s. 125(3) and s. 127(3)(e) Road Traffic Act 1988
The "fit and proper person" condition means the applicant is fit to have their name entered in the register, maintaining public confidence.
Harris v Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors [2010] EWCA Civ 808
Appeals to the Tribunal are re-hearings; the Tribunal makes a fresh decision, giving appropriate weight to the Registrar's reasons.
R (Hope and Glory Public House Limited) v City of Westminster Magistrates' Court [2011] EWCA Civ 31; Hesham Ali (Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2016] UKSC 60
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
The Tribunal found that Firman's repeated speeding offences, despite a prior warning, demonstrated a failure to abide by the rules of the road, undermining public confidence in the Register.
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