John Bowman from National Register of LGV Instructors (NRI) provides an important update on the development of the new PSV (Public Service Vehicle) Instructor register.

In May 2022, JAUPT (Joint Approvals Unit for Periodic Training) advised the transport and logistics industry that the current professional register for bus and coach driving Instructors was closed for new entry and that the NRI had been selected, following an open invitation, to develop and operate a new register.

NRI conducted initial discussions within the PSV industry during July, with the aim of sharing proposals in the autumn and launching a new register in late 2022.

In August 2022, the Department for Transport (DfT) issued a call for evidence about a number of possible changes to vocational (LGV/HGV and PSV) driving licences and vocational driving Instructor training and qualification. One area of the call asks for evidence relating to pros and cons of a compulsory training and registration scheme for all vocational driving Instructors. The call specifically asks if both LGV/HGV and PSV Instructors should be included in any scheme and seeks views on the impact of the publication of the test pass rates attributable to each Instructor.

The full call for evidence can be viewed here.

The closing date for the call for evidence is 28th October 2022 and all organisations and individual Instructors are encouraged to submit responses.

Given that the DfT call for evidence and the work NRI had started are covering the same issues, Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT), JAUPT and NRI have agreed that NRI should pause its work so that the same questions aren’t being asked of the industry twice. NRI will await the publication of the report from the call for evidence, see the direction in which the industry wants to move, and respond accordingly.