These Regulations give effect in Northern Ireland to Regulation (EC) No. 1071/2009 of 21 October 2009 (“the 2009 Regulation”), which establishes common rules concerning the conditions to be complied with to pursue the occupation of road transport operator and repeals Council Directive 96/26/EC.

The 2009 Regulation governs admission to, and pursuit of, the occupation of road transport operator. It requires road transport undertakings to have an effective and stable establishment in Member States, be of good repute and have appropriate financial standing and the requisite professional competence and it specifies the conditions to be met to satisfy these requirements.

The Regulation provides for the enforcement of its provisions by requiring Member States to designate one or more competent authorities to ensure its correct application, requiring undertakings to hold authorisations to engage in the occupation of road transport operator, and establishing the procedure for withdrawing authorisations and declaring transport managers unfit to manage transport activities. It also provides for appeals against adverse decisions, the establishment of national electronic registers of authorised undertakings, the protection of personal data, administrative cooperation between Member States, the mutual recognition of certificates and Member States to establish penalties for infringements.

Under regulation 2 of these Regulations the Department of the Environment (“the Department”) is designated as the Competent Authority for the purposes of the 2009 Regulation.

Regulation 3 provides that road service licences issued under the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 (“the 1967 Act”) constitute authorisations for the purposes of the 2009 Regulation.

Regulation 4 specifies a period of up to 28 days within which licensees are to notify changes in data for the purposes of Article 11.5 of the 2009 Regulation and provides for that obligation to constitute a condition of the licence.

Regulation 5 sets out how an undertaking that does not satisfy the requirement of professional competence can be authorised to operate by the Department.

Regulation 6 sets out the requirements for professional competence.

Regulations 7 and 8 deal with disqualification orders and the cancellation or variation of those orders.

Regulation 9 amends the Transport Act (Northern Ireland) 1967 Act (“the 1967 Act”) as follows –

(a) section 5 is amended to insert additional particulars that must be provided by applicants for road service licences,

(b) section 6A is substituted to specify the circumstances in which the Department will refuse to grant a road service licence,

(c) section 10 is amended to set out the circumstances in which the Department will revoke a road service licence,

(d) section 46A is omitted,

(e) section 46B is substituted to specify how the Department will determine if a person or undertaking is of good repute and what determines if a person or undertaking is not of good repute,

(f) section 46F is omitted.

There are also minor consequential amendments to sections 7, 7A, 35, 46C, 46D and 81 of that Act.

An Explanatory Memorandum has been produced and is available from Road Safety and Vehicle Regulation Division, Department of the Environment, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 8GB or viewed online at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared and copies are available from Vehicle Policy Branch, Department of the Environment, Clarence Court, 10-18 Adelaide Street, Town Parks, Belfast BT2 8GB or viewed online at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2013/287