The Goods Vehicles (Qualifications of Operators) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement the requirements of the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) with regard to the determination of applications for operator licences and to give effect in Northern Ireland to Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009 of 21 October 2009 (“Regulation 1071/2009”) which establishes common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repeals Council Directive 96/26/EC.

Regulation 1071/2009 governs admission to, and pursuit of, the occupation of road transport operator. It requires road transport undertakings to have an effective and stable establishment in member states, be of good repute and have appropriate financial standing and the requisite professional competence and it specifies the conditions to be met to satisfy these requirements.

The Regulation provides for the enforcement of its provisions by requiring member states to designate one or more competent authorities to ensure its correct application, requiring undertakings to hold authorisations to engage in the occupation of road transport operator, and establishing the procedure for withdrawing authorisations and declaring transport managers unfit to manage transport activities. It also provides for appeals against adverse decisions, the establishment of national electronic registers of authorised undertakings, the protection of personal data, administrative cooperation between member states, the mutual recognition of certificates and member states to establish penalties for infringements.

Under regulation 2 of these Regulations the Department of the Environment (“the Department”) is designated as the Competent Authority for the purposes of Regulation 1071/2009. Regulation 3 provides that standard operator licences issued under the 2010 Act constitutes authorisations for the purposes of Regulation 1071/2009. Regulation 4 specifies a period of up to 28 days within which licensees are to notify changes in data for the purposes of Article 11.5 of Regulation 1071/2009 and provides for the Article to be enforced as if it was a licence condition.

Regulations 5 to 9 clarify how the Department will determine if a person is of good repute and what determines if a person is not of good repute.

Regulations 10 to 13 set out how an individual satisfies the Department that they are professionally competent.

Regulation 14 sets out the requirement for the Department to issue a notice to a transport manager before it makes a finding that the transport manager is not of good repute or is not professionally competent.

Regulation 15 deals with the determinations in respect of transport managers in regards to being no longer of good repute or professionally competent.

Regulation 16 deals with the cancellation or variation of a disqualification order.

Regulation 17 amends the 2010 Act to include:

(a) the replacement of section 12 (determination of applications for operators’ licences) with new sections 12 to 12E to reflect the new conditions to apply to standard licence holders by virtue of Regulation1071/2009;

(b) the amendment of section 21 (interim licences) to allow interim operators’ licences to constitute operators’ licences for the purposes of the Act;

(c) the amendment of section 24 (revocation of standard licences) to incorporate the time limits allowed for rectification by Article 13 of the Regulation.

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and copies are available from Transport Regulation Unit, Department of the Environment, Bedford House, 16 – 22 Bedford Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 7FD or viewed online at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.