Conwy Castle (Wales Live)

In case you missed it, here is the link to last night’s webinar.  Thanks to everyone for your support and we will endeavour to answer the questions we weren’t able to get round to.

 

Our Chair has had a reply to her letter of 8 May to Grant Schapps MP,  the Transport Secretary, you can view it here.

 

Some of our members have also been busy writing in to Ministers and MPs.  The more people that make a noise the better!

Heard from Antony Cook, who wrote in today with the following –

After the webinar yesterday I, and some of my colleagues, were concerned by the attitude of some driving schools and ADIs.

The need for them to return to work and flaunt the guidelines has surprised us when, and Andrew Love stated, we should all stick together.
How can we all stick together when some people are making their own personal decision to resume.
I asked the Police yesterday and this is their response.
I have also asked my local MP.

I understand that people are in differing situations but the action of returning to work could force others back to work early through fear of losing students.

Can you please make the police email visible to the group as I think it adds some weight to my argument.

Thank you for your continued good work, and I will continue to gain more information where I can.

Antony
Antony’s reply from Warwickshire police:
As far as we are aware, no date has been given for when driving lessons might be able to resume. Under the government’s new guidelines, people in England have been instructed to go back to work if they cannot work from home and it is safe to do so. However, in the case of driving instructors, it is not possible to maintain social distancing in the car with a learner. Therefore, in our opinion, this means that driving lessons should not be conducted at present, unless they are for key workers. The links below show information in support of this:

https://driving.org/coronavirus-advice/

https://www.theaa.com/driving-school/driving-lessons/advice/coronavirus-covid-19

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-letter-from-dvsa-chief-executive-to-driver-and-rider-trainers/letter-from-dvsa-chief-executive-to-approved-driving-instructors-about-coronavirus-covid-19

If a driving instructor were found to be giving lessons other than in these circumstances, it would be a matter for the local police to consider the situation and decide what action to take.

We hope this information is of use.

 

Chris Bensted has also been busy and had this reply after writing to the Secretary of State for Transport:

Thank you for your email of 1 May email to the Secretary of State for Transport detailing your concerns with the lack of guidance for approved driving instructors (ADI) during the Covid-19 outbreak.

It is usual practice in Whitehall Departments for correspondence to be passed to the appropriate policy team or Executive Agency to reply on the Minister’s behalf. Your email was passed to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and I have been asked to reply.

Using the latest Government guidance, we are working closely with the Approved Driving Instructors National Association Strategic Partnership (NASP) to develop appropriate plans and control measures that will enable the resumption of non-essential driving lessons. We will keep the situation under review and provide further information over the next few weeks.
As you are aware, ADIs can continue to provide tuition to pupils if the lesson is considered essential. It is the responsibility of the ADI, and the pupil, to decide if the driving lesson is critical. Our top priority is to stop the spread of coronavirus and keep everyone safe. But it is also important we are able to provide people whose work is critical to the coronavirus response, the ability to take a driving test if they have an essential need.
It is up to the individual driving instructor whether they feel comfortable to instruct critical workers during this time, and we are grateful to those who have continued to teach those who need an essential test.
We have shared the personal protective arrangements we have for examiners, with NASP. This might help instructors develop their own arrangements during this time. We would recommend that all ADIs should put in place appropriate health and safety measures, in line with the latest Public Heath England and Cabinet Office guidance, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Our current guidance remains as detailed in our Chief Executive’s letter to ADIs and our FAQs both detailed on the NASP website.

We are continually evaluating the current situation and are working closely with key stakeholders from the car, motorcycle and vocational industries to establish how to begin resuming our service of providing driving tests. Before practical driving tests are reintroduced, we will inform the driver training industry. This will help candidates prepare and reach the standard of driving needed to pass their test.

We remain committed to resuming testing for all candidates as soon as it is safe to do so and in line with further Government advice.

We will provide further updates on providing driving lessons and driving tests as soon as we can.

 

If you would like to join the ADINJC there is more information on our website.

 

 

 

Whilst our newsflashes are normally a benefit of membership of the ADINJC, during this national emergency we want to share information as widely as possible, so please feel free to pass this on.  We are stronger together.

 

The NJC continues to be dedicated to help you in these challenging times and we hope you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy.  Please feel free to contact us for help and support.

 

ADINJC’s helpline is 0800 8202 444

The Secretary’s number is 07855 453414

HMRC Helpline:  0800 0159 559

Citizens Advice Bureau – https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/health/coronavirus-what-it-means-for-you/

You can sign up to receive Government updates on Coronavirus relating to driving tests here.

The ADINJC is a national association run by ADIs on a not-for-profit basis.  We work tirelessly to inform, represent and support our members, and to promote the interests of our profession.