1(1)In determining whether an individual is of good repute, a traffic commissioner may have regard to any matter but shall, in particular, have regard to—E+W+S
(a)any relevant convictions of the individual or of his servants or agents; and
(b)any other information in his possession which appears to him to relate to the individual’s fitness to hold a licence.
(2)In determining whether a company is of good repute, a traffic commissioner shall have regard to all the material evidence including, in particular—
(a)any relevant convictions of the company or of any of its officers, servants or agents; and
(b)any other information in his possession as to the previous conduct of—
(i)any of the company’s officers, servants or agents, or
(ii)any of its directors, in whatever capacity,
if that conduct appears to him to relate to the company’s fitness to hold a licence.
(3)For the purposes of this paragraph, the relevant convictions of any person are—
(a)any conviction of that person of an offence such as is mentioned in paragraph 5 of Schedule 2;
(b)any conviction of that person of an offence under the law of Northern Ireland or of the law of any country or territory outside the United Kingdom corresponding to an offence such as is mentioned in that paragraph;
(c)any conviction of that person of a serious offence within the meaning given in paragraph 3; and
(d)any conviction of that person of a road transport offence within the meaning given in paragraph 4.
2Without prejudice to the generality of a traffic commissioner’s power under paragraph 1 to determine that a person is not of good repute, a commissioner shall determine that an individual is not of good repute if that individual—
(a)has more than one conviction of a serious offence; or
(b)has repeatedly been convicted of road transport offences.
3(1)A person has a conviction of a “serious offence” if—
(a)he has been convicted of any offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom or under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, and
(b)on such conviction there was imposed on him for that offence a punishment falling within sub-paragraph (2).
(2)The punishments are—
(a)a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding three months;
(b)a fine exceeding level 4 on the standard scale;
(c)a community service order requiring him to perform work for more than 60 hours; and
(d)in the case of an offence committed under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom, any punishment corresponding to those mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c).
(3)In sub-paragraph (2)—
(a)the reference to a sentence of imprisonment includes a reference to any form of custodial sentence or order, other than one imposed under the enactments relating to mental health; and
(b)“community service order” means an order under section 14 of the M1Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 or under the M2Community Service by Offenders (Scotland) Act 1978.
4“Road transport offence” means—
(a)an offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom relating to road transport including, in particular, offences relating to—
(i)drivers’ hours of work and rest periods;
(ii)the weights and dimensions of commercial vehicles; and
(iii)road and vehicle safety; or
(b)any corresponding offence under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom.
5(1)Any reference in paragraphs 1 to 4 to an offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom includes a reference to a civil offence (wherever committed) within the meaning of the M3Army Act 1955, the M4Air Force Act 1955 or (as the case may be) the M5Naval Discipline Act 1957.E+W+S
(2)For the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 4—
(a)convictions which are spent for the purposes of the M6Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 shall be disregarded; and
(b)a traffic commissioner may also disregard an offence if such time as he thinks appropriate has elapsed since the date of the conviction.