Transport Certificate of Competence (UK) - From 5 January 2008

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:23 am

Do you transport livestock?

From 5 January 2008, all transporters of livestock will be required to have passed the Certificate of Competence which is a computerised, multiple choice answer, test. The Certificate covers journeys of over 65km (40 miles) and under 8 hours in duration, and all the drivers in a family that transport livestock will be required to take the Certificate.

This Certificate is in addition to the Authorisation which all transporters had to apply for before 5 January 2007 (for the same journey times and length), and which you should all be keeping a copy of in your vehicle.

For further information about acquiring your Certificate, please contact NPTC, Part of the City & Guilds Group on 02476 857300 or Email: information@nptc.org.uk. Web Site: www.nptc.org.uk

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:16 am

I have just checked on the DEFRA web site and as far as I can tell, you only need the certificate if you are involved with an 'economic activity'. So does this mean that if you do not sell the meat that you do not require a certificate? Even if you don't sell the meat from your animals there will be an 'economic benifit' to you in one form or another. So it seems as if this is this a catch all regulation. 40 miles is not a great distance if you are buying in or selling animals so it looks like most of us will need to attend and pay for a training course, another cost that we could do without.

Martin.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:45 am

I think it means if you are taking animals to the abattoir which is between 40 and 80 miles then you need this Certificate, in addition to the licence required from earlier this year. That is economic activity I would think.

I have asked for clarification.

louise · Post by **louise** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:59 am

Hi all
I had an amusing thought when I read this.
"Well what shall we do today?"
"I know- we will just load the cow and calf in the trailer and go for a nice ride round the countryside to look at the scenery."
cheers Louise

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:29 am

I think that would achieve a lot more than the Certificate of Competency Louisa.

Rob R · Post by **Rob R** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 1:59 pm

I think this should be built into the trailer test- the Government seems intent on filling paper pushing jobs when many of the departments are doing exactly the same thing as each other.

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:36 pm

We get that in our country too. I have todeal with two different government departments who both want to check on the same imported bull each year, but only one of them actually comes out to see him. The other department just asks me to fill in yet another form! ???

SteveM · Post by **SteveM** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 5:55 pm

There is a dvd available from www.animal-i.com, which was featured a few weeks ago in farmers weekly.

The website has online questions you can practice on.

Looks like the test should be fairly straight forward, local college have given me contact number to book the online test, suggesting that no tuition should be required for the short journey (up to 8hr) test.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 6:28 pm

Yes, same here Steve. I've been put in touch with the local college.

I have also been sent the Assessment Schedule for Short Distances and have posted it as on the Download page of www.DBOinfo.co.uk, all 17 pages of it!

andy · Post by **andy** » Sun Aug 19, 2007 9:54 am

Can anybody make sense of the drivers hours regulations? The old exemptions have changed. Does everthing over 3.5 tons (4 x 4 plus trailer etc) now need a tachograph for journeys over 50 km? Do you read this to include showing as well as moving animals for selling?
http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr....rul3239
Andy

Sue E · Post by **Sue E** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 7:39 pm

I have recently taken my Certificate of Competence to transport cattle & sheep and passed it. I had not realised there was a dvd available and could not even find out what the test would include so went into the exam having had no tuition at all. Having spent a few sleepless nights worrying about it the reality was the test was pretty straightforward and more commonsense than anything else. It was multichoice questions and you had about an hour to complete it in but those of us taking it had finished in about 10 minutes!
I came away thinking it was yet again a question of jobs for the boys and a complete waste of time and money and wondering who is actually going to check we have all these certificates.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:19 am

I've received the info from my local college to take this "exam". Apparently I've got to pay £50 to apply and then another £35 for each additional species. I do cattle and sheep, so to me that adds up to £85 and I can do pigs as well, so that another £35. Actually there's horses as well!

Looking through the exam details it's not something I want to pay for and even the college refer to it as a "another hoop" to get through.

Is there any way of getting the certificate without spending money on this (I think) rip-off?

Ted Neal · Post by **Ted Neal** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 6:11 pm

Sadly dear old Defra have got us by the Bank Account - payment is essential.
The assessment is being carried out by the National Proficiency Test Centre (NPTC). They have regional assessors. Sorry don't have the number but they told we a while back that the test was £30 plus a £17 NPTC registration fee. As you say Cattle & Sheep is one test and all other species seem to have a seperate test - as said jobs for the boys
Regards
Ted

Inger · Post by **Inger** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:12 pm

We only have to pay the trailer registration and the warrant of fitness. I guess in our country they figure that what you carry in it is your own business. As long as you're not a comercial carrier of animals. Then its a different category.

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Feb 27, 2010 6:28 pm

The issue of tachographs as raised by Andy some time ago has reared its ugly head again. The regulations are much too difficult for me to either understand or describe fully here, but basically it is now law that any vehicle towing a trailer where the total maximum weight is over 3.5 tonnes needs a tachograph. This takes us into all sorts of areas such as drivers' hours, rest times, etc, as if the requirememts for the animals were not complicated enough. It is not the weight you are at the time you are stopped that counts, but the maximum approved weight for your vehicle plus trailer. Only applies for journeys over 50km, but I imagine a lot of Dexter owners will go further to show or sell, or deliver or collect.

Two farmers in Argyll have recently been stopped, one was cautioned and the other has been charged. I went today to a NFUS open meeting (I am a member anyway) which had animal transport on the agenda, it did not get any discussion, I suspect because they know this has slipped through with little or no opposition from NFU or NFUS. Any activity on this front anywhere else?

Duncan