Commercial Vehicle Operator Licensing

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made on 4 December 2017:

Decision Reference: MD-T-2017-0100
Decision Summary Title :	Commercial Vehicle Operator Licensing		Date of Decision Summary:	29 November 2017
Decision Summary Author:	Inspector of Motor Traffic		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Commercial Vehicle Operator Licensing		Date of Written Report:	29 November 2017
Written Report Author:	Inspector of Motor Traffic		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Drafting of legislation to give the Minister powers to issue a licence to operators of any class or classes of commercial vehicles and prescribe such conditions as may be specified in the licence and provided proof that conditions are not complied with, revoke or suspend said licence.
Decision(s): The Minister agreed that all Jersey registered commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes should be licenced to operate commercially on Island roads. From 2018 all said vehicles shall be annually inspected and certified to ensure they are safe to operate on Island roads.
Reason(s) for Decision: 1) To establish a transitional arrangement for annual testing of commercial vehicles registered in Jersey. 2) To prescribe the minimum testing standard for operating a commercial vehicle on Jersey roads. 3) To introduce a Commercial Vehicle Licensing scheme for all vehicles over 3.5 tonne.
Resource Implications: The first phase of annual vehicle testing can be undertaken from existing Driver and Vehicle Standards Department resources and facilities. The second phase and Operator audits will require additional resource which has been budgeted for in the DVS 2019 budget and covered by the anticipated Certificate of Compliance (CoC) testing fees. DVS facilities are able to accommodate the testing of all commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
Action required: Head of DVS to ; 1) Instruct the Law Draftsman to prepare amendments to the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998, pursuant to the Minister’s powers to make Orders under Article 77 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956. The policy purpose of these amendments is to enable the Minister to require certain large commercially operated vehicles (over 7.5 tonnes commencing 01.01.18, and over 3.5 tonnes commencing 01.01.19) to undergo what will in effect be an annual roadworthiness inspection, with the aim of ensuring that such vehicles are in a safe condition for use on the roads. A vehicle passing such an inspection will be issued with a CoC under the Order. 2) Instruct the Law Draftsman to change Article 120 (1) of the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) (Jersey) Order 1998 so as to increase the vehicle examination fee from £25 to £175. 3) To instruct the law draftsman to draft legislation giving the Minister for Infrastructure the powers to issue a licence to Operators of any class or classes of vehicle and prescribe such restrictions and conditions as may be specified in the licence. If such conditions and restrictions are not complied with, revoke or suspend said licence and include the requirements, as set out in items 1 to 5 of this report. 4) Advise the Industry of the decision and prepare the schedule for the inspection of commercial vehicles over 7.5 tonnes from January 2018.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Infrastructure
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):