FT/D/2025/0417 - [2025] UKFTT 01140 (GRC)

He had been treated unfairly and the assessment process had been neither professional or impartial. His examiner during the fourth check test had been biased against him, and had treated him in a disrespectful and unprofessional manner;

The feedback and scoring that had been provided following the fourth check test had not been objective and was not reflective of what had occurred during the assessment;

His subsequent complaints to the public liaison team of the DVSA had been ignored;

He stated “I respectfully urge the court to take into account the unprofessional conduct I was subjected to, the failure of the DVSA to respond to my concerns, and the clear mismatch between the assessment feedback and the actual lesson. I ask for the opportunity to continue in the profession I have dedicated myself to, and to be judged fairly on my merit”;

Accordingly, the Appellant asserted that his name should not be removed from the Register.

After the first two tests conducted on 28 November 2022 and 14 March 2023, the Appellant had been notified of the findings of the examiner during the debriefs and advised to consider further personal development;

Following the third test on 18 October 2023, the Appellant raised issues relating to the conduct of the test, the marking of the test, and the behaviour of the examiner. As a result, the Registrar asked the DVSA Public Liaison team to investigate, and subsequently the Appellant asked for his case to be reviewed by the Independent Complaints Assessor;

The Independent Complaints Assessor did not uphold the Appellant’s appeal. However, due to the length of time that it had taken for a final decision to be reached, the Registrar offered the Appellant a further opportunity to take the check test;

On 15 August 2024 the Appellant was notified that he was required to take a further test on 08 November 2024. He was urged to take account of the advice that he had been given following his previous tests;

The Appellant cancelled the check test that was scheduled for November 2024. The test was rebooked and the Appellant was notified of the new date, namely 31 January 2025, via letter dated 04 November 2024. The Appellant was again urged to take account of the advice given following his previous tests;

Following the fourth check test on 31 January 2025, the Appellant was notified that his overall performance was again found to be below the required standard;

On 05 February 2025, the Appellant was notified that the Registrar was considering the removal of his name from the Register as the Registrar was no longer satisfied that his ability to give driving instruction was of a satisfactory standard. The Appellant was invited to make representations, which he did on 04 March 2025;

In his representations, the Appellant stated that he had been an Approved Driving Instructor for over five years and the fact that he had passed several students during that time was testament to his teaching ability. He stated that the examiner had failed to acknowledge that he had received good feedback from the learner in the check test debrief. He stated that he had previously raised numerous complaints about the examiner (“CoC”) who conducted the fourth check test and that he had found his conduct to be disrespectful towards him. He stated that he had been treated unfairly for a number of years, and that the examiner on his most recent check test had failed to conduct his job diligently;

The Registrar concluded that the Appellant’s name should be removed from the Register as the Appellant had undertaken the check test on four occasions but had failed each time to reach the required standard. He had failed to reach the required standard on the third and fourth tests, notwithstanding that he had been notified of his shortcomings after the first and second test and given the opportunity to improve on them. The Registrar concluded that the Appellant had been given adequate opportunity to pass the test but had failed to do so. In the interests of road safety and consumer protection, the Registrar had felt obliged to remove the Appellant’s name from the Register as he had been unable to satisfy the Registrar that his ability to give driving instruction was of a satisfactory standard;

The Appellant responded on 18 March 2025 stating that the issues that he had previously raised on 04 March 2025 had been ignored, and highlighting the detrimental impact to both himself and his students if his name were to be removed from the Register.