12.— (1) The Minister may establish and keep a register of—

(a) certificates of professional competence, and

(b) operator’s licences,

in such form, including electronic form, and containing such particulars, including vehicle registration numbers and other appropriate details regarding the operator and drivers of the vehicle, as the Minister shall, from time to time, direct.

(2) The register shall at all reasonable times be open to inspection by any person, and may be published by the Minister on the Internet free of charge.

(3) A person shall be entitled to obtain from the Minister a copy of any entry in the register on payment of such fee, if any, not exceeding the reasonable cost of producing the copy that the Minister may direct.

(4) Every document purporting to be a copy of an entry in the register and purporting to be certified by an officer of the Minister to be a true copy of such entry shall, without proof of the signature of the person purporting so to certify or that he or she was such officer, be received in evidence in any legal proceedings and shall, until the contrary is shown, be deemed to be a true copy of such entry and to be evidence of the terms of such entry.

(5) Section 10 of the Road Transport Act 1986 is repealed.

(6) In this section “register” means a register established under this section.