The Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made under sections 12(1), 13(2) and (3), 14(1), (2), (4)(b), (c) and (e) and (7) and 20(1) of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Act 2023 (c. 28) (“the 2023 Act”) and section 31(1) of the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 (c. 29). These Regulations revoke and replace regulations 6 to 9, 12, 13 and 14A, and make amendment to various other regulations of the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007 (S.I. 2007/605) (“the 2007 Regulations”) which relate to road traffic in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The 2007 Regulations are secondary assimilated law within the meaning of section 12(2) of the 2023 Act.

These Regulations introduce new national periodic training, completion of which entitles a person to the issue of a five-year national driver qualification card, and a national return to driving course of 7 hours of TCA-compliant periodic training, completion of which entitles a person to the issue of a one-year national driver qualification card (see new regulations 7A, 7B, 8AC and 8AD).

The 2007 Regulations implemented Directive 2003/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (“the Directive”) which provided for the initial qualification and periodic training of drivers of certain goods vehicles and passenger vehicles. The requirements, which are largely equivalent, are now set out in the relevant provisions of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (“the TCA”) in Part 2, Heading 3, Title I: Transport of Goods by Road and Annex 31: Requirements for drivers involved in the transport of goods in accordance with Article 465 of the TCA.

Part 1: Preliminary

Part 1 makes provision relating to coming into force and extent. The Regulations come into force on the twenty-first day after the day on which they are made except to the extent that they relate to national return to driving courses (see regulation 1(2) and (3)).

Part 2: Amendment of the Vehicle Drivers (Certificates of Professional Competence) Regulations 2007

Part 2 amends the 2007 Regulations.

Regulations 3 to 6 update regulations 2 to 4 and 5A of the 2007 Regulations, in particular to insert new definitions related to the national periodic training and the national return to driving course being created, to refer to the TCA instead of the Directive and to apply modifications to certain parts of the TCA for the purposes of the 2007 Regulations.

Regulation 7 revokes and replaces regulation 6 (persons providing periodic training courses) of the 2007 Regulations. New regulation 6 allows the competent authority to approve persons to provide periodic training courses, national periodic training courses and national return to driving courses. The fees for approval remain the same as under the 2007 Regulations. Approval of the person is valid for a period of five years and approval of each course is valid for a period of one year, both starting either from a date specified by the authority in its approval or from the day after the date of approval.

Regulation 8 revokes and replaces regulation 6A (appeals in relation to Great Britain) of the 2007 Regulations. New regulation 6A extends the right of appeal to approvals of national periodic training courses and national return to driving courses. Regulation 9 revokes and replaces regulation 6B (appeals in relation to Northern Ireland) in an equivalent way.

Regulation 10 revokes and replaces regulation 7 (record of periodic training by competent authority) of the 2007 Regulations and the new regulation extends the requirement to notify the competent authority of the completion of national periodic training courses and national return to driving courses. The fee specified in new regulation 7(1)(b) is the same as was specified in the equivalent provision of the 2007 Regulations.

Regulation 11 inserts new regulations 7A (requirements of national periodic training courses) and 7B (eligibility for, and requirements of, national return to driving courses) into the 2007 Regulations to make provision in connection with the requirements of national periodic training courses and eligibility for, and requirements of, national return to driving courses respectively.

Regulation 12 revokes regulations 8 (driver qualification card) and 8A of the 2007 Regulations and replaces them with new regulations 8 to 8AD. The new regulations include provision—

(a) relating to the competent authority’s automatic issue of a driver qualification card and a national driver qualification card respectively and set out the application process relating to each of those cards where a person holds an initial CPC, periodic CPC or national periodic CPC as a result of completing the relevant training,

(b) for the periods of time for which a driver qualification card or a national driver qualification will be issued which vary in accordance with the training completed and whether a person completed the training before or after their initial CPC or last periodic CPC qualification expired,

(c) for a person to upgrade a national driver qualification card to a driver qualification card where the person holds a periodic CPC as a result of completing sufficient periodic training,

(d) for the process for a person to exchange a driver qualification card issued outside the United Kingdom or a Swiss CPC for a driver qualification card issued by the competent authority.

Regulation 13 revokes and replaces regulation 8B (damaged, lost or stolen documents) of the 2007 Regulations with equivalent provision which covers damaged, lost or stolen national driver qualification cards as well as driver qualification cards.

Regulation 14 revokes and replaces regulation 9 (time limits for obtaining a CPC) of the 2007 Regulations with a new regulation 9 (requirement to hold, validity and time limits of CPC, national periodic CPC or Swiss CPC). The new regulation 9 provides for the validity of a CPC, national periodic CPC or Swiss CPC and contains a prohibition against driving a vehicle on a road unless the person holds one of these valid CPCs or has completed a national return to driving course within the past year.

Regulation 15 makes consequential adjustments to regulation 10 (offence of driving without a CPC) to reflect the numbering of replacement regulation 9.

Regulation 16 amends regulation 11 (requirement to carry and produce evidence of CPC or of training exemption in vehicle) of the 2007 Regulations to ensure that the requirements and the offences in that regulation apply to the requirement to carry national driver qualification cards as well as driver qualification cards and NVT certificates.

Regulation 17 revokes and replaces regulation 12 (document errors) of the 2007 Regulations. New regulation 12 includes provision relating to document errors in a national driver qualification card.

Regulation 18 revokes and replaces regulation 13 (forgery and false statements). New regulation 13 extends the offences that were in regulation 13 of the 2007 Regulations to the equivalent offences relating to the national driver qualification card.

Regulation 19 revokes and replaces regulation 14A (review) of the 2007 Regulations. New regulation 14A provides for the Secretary of State to undertake a review of the regulatory provision contained in the 2007 Regulations by 16thMay 2029 and, after that, at intervals not exceeding five years.

Part 3: Consequential amendments

Regulations 20 to 25 make consequential amendments to secondary legislation.

Part 4: Miscellaneous

Regulation 26 makes transitional provision to ensure that any periodic training, Swiss periodic training or combination of periodic training and Swiss periodic training undertaken by a person under the 2007 Regulations can count towards that person obtaining a national periodic CPC once these Regulations come into force.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

An Explanatory Memorandum for this instrument has been published alongside these Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk.