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20th September 2007
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

Europe has proposed a more rigorous CPC for transport managers — but are the proposals fair to UK operators?

Patric Cunnane reports.

The changing nature of the Certificate of Professional Competence, or CPC, is a hot topic among those responsible for managing transport companies — in the future there will be a single CPC, covering national and international transport.

As we reported recently (CM 30 August, 'Raising the bar') the European Commission (EC) has proposed a harmonisation of standards governing the CPC. This would include a stipulation that transport managers should undergo 140 hours of training and have closer links to the company. Also, any transport manager who is not a full-time employee should not be responsible for more than four undertakings with a combined fleet of no more than 12 vehicles.

At the moment transport managers in this situation are governed by the Traffic Commissioners who can decide whether to limit a CPC holder's responsibilities. The Freight Transport Association (ETA) believes the EC proposals may he too restrictive.

The ETA is also pressing for grandfather rights to he granted to current holders of UK national CPCs so they would only have to take the international part of the new CPC. This would save them the expense and annoyance of having to sit the same exam again.

The OCR Examinations Board reports that 1,703 candidates sat CPC Unit 4 (case studies, national) this June, while only 240 sat the international part of the test. This shows there is still a demand for a purely national CPC in the UK," says Chris Yarsley, European affairs manager at the ETA's Brussels office.

Regional differences

The UK's island geography inevitably diminishes the interest in an international CPC. "In Luxembourg. Belgium or the Netherlands it's understandable that you'd need an international CPC because you're often crossing borders, possibly every day," says Yarsley. "If you're based in the north of England it's a different matter."

Some will argue that the proposal to limit the number of vehicles controlled by a transport manager not in the direct employ of a company will bring clarity to an otherwise complex regulation. The current requirement stipulates that if the transport manager is not a full-time employee he must satisfy the TC that he is able to exercise, alone or jointly, "continuous and effective responsibility" for managing the transport operations.

The FTA Yearbook of Road Transport Law says there may be circumstances where a number of qualified people are required for a single licence, or where an individual could be the nominated person for several licences.

However,many reports from public inquiries published in CM over the years have shown that policing transport managers who are not full-time employees is often difficult, with some transport managers having only the most tenuous connections with the 'employing' company to the extent of making only rare appearances at the operating centre.

And even with properly operated companies, geographical difficulties can play a part. In a recent 0-licence application the TC ordered a firm to find a second transport manager because its Birmingham-based CPC holder was simply too far from one of the company's locations in the North-West (CM 10 May. Firm told to get second transport manager').

While the UK's enforcement system may not be perfect, it is often considered more rigorous than some of its Continental counterparts. Behind the EC's new proposals on CPCs lies a desire to raise standards and, therefore, the safety of fleets transporting the El J's goods. According to the EC and the Council of Ministers the success rate in CPC exams across the member states varies from 10% to 90%; no wonder they believe the pupils and the teachers must try harder. • CONTACT

FTA CPC courses 08717 112222


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