The Goods and Motor Vehicles (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Goods and Motor Vehicles (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2018 and come into force on 1st September 2018.

Amendment of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995

2.—(1) The Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Regulations 1995(1) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 3(2) (interpretation), after the definition of “the 2009 Regulation”(2), insert—

““alternative fuel” means one or more of the following—

(a)

electricity;

(b)

hydrogen;

(c)

natural gas, including biomethane, in gaseous form and liquefied form;

(d)

liquefied petroleum gas;”.

(3) After regulation 36 insert—

“Review

37.— (1) The Secretary of State must from time to time—

(a) carry out a review of the regulatory provision contained in—

(i) the definition of “alternative fuel” in regulation 3(2),

(ii) paragraphs 15(a), 21 and 31 of Schedule 3, and

(b) publish a report setting out the conclusions of the review.

(2) The first report must be published before 1st September 2023.

(3) Subsequent reports must be published at intervals not exceeding 5 years.

(4) Section 30(4) of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015(3) requires that a report published under this regulation must, in particular—

(a) set out the objectives intended to be achieved by the regulatory provision referred to in paragraph (1)(a),

(b) assess the extent to which those objectives are achieved,

(c) assess whether those objectives remain appropriate, and

(d) if those objectives remain appropriate, assess the extent to which they could be achieved in another way which involves less onerous regulatory provision.

(5) In this regulation, “regulatory provision” has the same meaning as in sections 28 to 32 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015(4) (see section 32 of that Act).”.

(4) In Schedule 3, Part 1 (classes of vehicles for which a licence is not required)—

(a) in paragraph 15, for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—

“(a) water, fuel, accumulators and other equipment used for the purpose of propulsion or the running of the vehicle, loose tools and loose equipment;”;

(b) in paragraph 21, after “vehicle” insert “first registered before 1st March 2015”; and

(c) after paragraph (30)(5), insert—

“31.   A vehicle—

(a) fuelled entirely by alternative fuel,

(b) with a permissible laden mass not exceeding 4.25 tonnes,

(c) currently used in Great Britain for the carriage of goods, and

(d) which has not been so used outside Great Britain.”.

Amendment of the Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981

3.—(1) The Motor Vehicles (Tests) Regulations 1981(6) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 6(1)(xvii)(7) (exemptions), after “3500 kilograms” insert “first registered before 1st March 2015”.

Signed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport

Jesse Norman

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department for Transport

10th January 2018