# The Road Transport (Qualifications of Operators) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, Regulation 6: Amendment of section 46A of the Act of 1967

Extent: N.I.

For section 46A of the Act of 1967 (interpretation of certain expressions) there shall be substituted –
“46A. (1) The following provisions of this section and sections 46B to 46F shall have effect for the interpretation of certain expressions used in sections 5, 6A, 7, 10, 15, 15A, 28A and 29.
(2) (a) “conviction” means –
(i) any conviction mentioned in section 29(1) or any conviction of contravening any provision of the law of Great Britain or of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom corresponding to any such conviction, or
(ii) any other conviction of an offence which is a serious offence as defined in section 46B(3) or a road transport offence as defined in section 46B(4),
not being in either case a spent conviction within the meaning of the Rehabilitation of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1978; and a reference to a person being convicted of an offence shall be construed accordingly;
(b) “a sentence of imprisonment” includes any form of custodial sentence or order other than one under the enactments relating to mental health and “a community service order” means an order under Article 7 of the Treatment of Offenders (Northern Ireland) Order 1976; and
(c) references to an offence under the law in force in any part of the United Kingdom include a reference to a civil offence within the meaning of the Army Act 1955, the Air Force Act 1955 or the Naval Discipline Act 1957.
Good repute of road freight and road passenger transport operators
46B. (1) For the purpose of determining whether a person is or is not of good repute regard shall be had in particular to the existence and number of any convictions (within the meaning of section 46A(2)) relating to the person or any partner, employee or agent of the person or, in the case of a company, any officer of the company during the period of 5 years ending with the date on which the matter falls to be determined.
(2) The Department shall determine that a person, or any partner, employee or agent of the person, or, in the case of a company, any officer of the company, is not of good repute if he has –
(a) more than one conviction of a serious offence; or
(b) been convicted of road transport offences.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a) a serious offence is –
(a) an offence under the law in force in any part of the United Kingdom for which a sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding 3 months, a fine exceeding level 4 on the standard scale or a community service order for more than 60 hours was imposed; and
(b) any corresponding offence under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom for which a corresponding punishment was imposed.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) a road transport offence is –
(a) an offence under the law of any part of the United Kingdom relating to road transport including in particular –
(i) an offence relating to drivers' hours of work or rest periods, the weights, dimensions and taxation of commercial vehicles, road or vehicle safety or the protection of the environment, and
(ii) any other offence concerning professional liability; or
(b) any corresponding offence under the law of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (2) spent convictions shall be disregarded.
(6) Subsection (2) is without prejudice to the power of the Department to determine that a person is not of good repute for reasons other than convictions of the kind there mentioned.
Financial standing of road freight and road passenger transport operators
46C. (1) A person applying for or holding a road service licence or an operator’s licence shall be regarded as having appropriate financial standing if he has available, or will have available, to him sufficient financial resources to ensure the launching and proper administration of the service or undertaking operated or to be operated by him under that licence.
(2) An applicant for, or the holder of, a road service licence or an operator’s licence authorising the use of vehicles for international operations shall not be considered to be of the appropriate financial standing unless he has available to him capital and reserves of at least –
(a) 9,000 Euro for the first or only vehicle which is to be or is authorised under the licence; and
(b) 5,000 Euro for each additional vehicle which is to be or is so authorised.
Professional competence of road passenger transport operators
46D. (1) In relation to an applicant for, or a holder of, a road service licence “exempt person” means a person who held, or was one of the holders of, a relevant licence before 1st January 1978 and, subject to subsection (2), for the purposes of a road service licence a person shall be regarded as professionally competent if –
(a) he held, or was one of the holders of, a relevant licence before 1st January 1975; or
(b) he has demonstrated that he possesses the requisite skills by passing a written examination organised by an approved body and is the holder of a certificate to that effect issued by that body; or
(c) he is the holder of any other certificate of competence, diploma or other qualification recognised for the purposes of this section by the Department; or
(d) before 1st January 1980 he has held a relevant licence for not less than 3 years continuously.
(2) A person shall not be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), as the holder, or one of the holders of, a relevant licence, other than a road service licence, at any time unless he is the holder of a certificate issued by the Department for Transport or the competent authority of any Member State other than the United Kingdom to the effect that he held such a licence.
(3) In subsections (1) and (2), “relevant licence” means –
(a) a road service licence; or
(b) a licence or other authorisation granted in a Member State which authorises the holder to provide a service for the carriage of passengers by road for reward.
(4) (a) The written examination mentioned in subsection (1)(b) may be supplemented by an oral examination organised by the approved body in the form set out in Annex I to Council Directive No. 96/26/EC;
(b) the certificate mentioned in subsection (1)(b) must take the form of the certificate set out in Annex Ia to that Directive;
(c) in subsection (1)(b), “approved body” means –
(i) a body approved by the Department for the purposes of that subsection, or
(ii) a body approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 to the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, or
(iii) a body or authority designated by another Member State for the purposes of Article 3(4) of Council Directive No. 96/26/EC; and
(d) in subsection (1)(b), “the requisite skills” means knowledge corresponding to the level of training, for either national or international transport operations as the case may be, provided for in Annex I to that Directive in the subjects there listed.
(5) Where two or more individuals trading in partnership apply for, or are the holders of, a road service licence, the applicant for, or as the case may be, the holder of, the licence shall be regarded as professionally competent if one of those individuals who is continuously and effectively responsible for the operation of the vehicles used under the licence is professionally competent.
Professional competence of road freight operators
46E. (1) In relation to an applicant for, or a holder of, an operator’s licence “exempt person” means a person who held, or was one of the holders of, a relevant licence before 1st January 1978 and, subject to subsection (2), for the purposes of an operator’s licence a person shall be regarded as professionally competent if –
(a) he held, or was one of the holders of, a relevant licence before 1st January 1975; or
(b) he has demonstrated that he possesses the requisite skills by passing a written examination organised by an approved body and is the holder of a certificate to that effect issued by that body; or
(c) he is the holder of any other certificate of competence, diploma or other qualification recognised for the purposes of this section by the Department; or
(d) before 1st January 1980 he has held a relevant licence for not less than 3 years continuously.
(2) A person shall not be regarded, for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), as the holder, or one of the holders of, a relevant licence, other than an operator’s licence, at any time unless he is the holder of a certificate issued by the Department for Transport or the competent authority of any Member State other than the United Kingdom to the effect that he held such a licence.
(3) In subsections (1) and (2), “relevant licence” means –
(a) an operator’s licence; or
(b) a licence or other authorisation granted in a Member State which authorises the holder to carry goods by road for reward.
(4) (a) The written examination mentioned in subsection (1)(b) may be supplemented by an oral examination organised by the approved body in the form set out in Annex I to Council Directive No. 96/26/EC;
(b) the certificate mentioned in subsection (1)(b) must take the form of the certificate set out in Annex Ia to that Directive;
(c) in subsection (1)(b), “approved body” means –
(i) a body approved by the Department for the purposes of that subsection, or
(ii) a body approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of paragraph 13 of Schedule 3 to the Goods Vehicles (Licensing of Operators) Act 1995, or
(iii) a body or authority designated by another Member State for the purposes of Article 3(4) of Council Directive No. 96/26/EC; and
(d) in subsection (1)(b), “the requisite skills” means knowledge corresponding to the level of training, for either national or international transport operations as the case may be, provided for in Annex I to that Directive in the subjects there listed.
(5) Where two or more individuals trading in partnership apply for, or are the holders of, an operator’s licence, the applicant for, or as the case may be, the holder of, the licence shall be regarded as professionally competent if one of those individuals who is continuously and effectively responsible for the operation of the vehicles used under the licence is professionally competent.
Savings
46F. The provisions of section 46A(5) and (6) that were in force prior to 21st May 2003 in relation to certificates of professional competence shall continue to apply in relation to a certificate of professional competence –
(a) which was issued before 21st May 2003; or
(b) which was issued on or after that date to a person who before that date passed the whole or any part of the examination leading to the issue of that certificate.”.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2003/217/regulation/6 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/road-transport-qualifications-of-operators-amendment-regulations-northern-ireland-2003/regulation-6
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.