MiDAS & Section 19 Minibus Permits

Cotswold Edge District is a member of the nationally recognised MiDAS Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme.  To ensure safety of our young people, to follow good practice and ensure our minibus drivers are up to date with current minibus regulations we expect that any adult driving a minibus to transport members of our district or groups in our district to have undertaken recent minibus driver training and hold a current MiDAS Driver Certificate.  Where a minibus is being used for an activity the notification must show who the driver(s) will be and they will be checked for their MiDAS Driver Certificate status. 

Also to comply with UK driving regulations all minibuses being driven by Scout Groups or by District must display the correct Section 19 minibus permit in their windscreen (this includes minibuses hired from outside scouting).  This page outlines information about the MiDAS driver training and assessment that is being offered by our district team and also information about Section 19 minibus permits.  As part of operating under a Section 19 permit all minibuses must meet current safety standards with annual MOT and regular interim safety inspections (every 6/10 weeks).

MiDAS Driver Training & Assessment

In Cotswold Edge District we currently have two qualified MiDAS Driver Assessor/Trainers who can perform the MiDAS required driver training and assessment.  We only train for the MiDAS Standard Driver certificate to drive standard minibuses and do not cover the accessible training for carrying wheelchairs on an accessible minibus.

In order to gain a MiDAS Driver Certificate, which is valid for four years, the following training and assessment must be undertaken:

  • Theory session, which from January 2024 became an online training session, with several short sections which can be taken one at a time to fit around your schedule (to register for the theory session, and obtain your login id, you must register with us as a candidate and pay the necessary training fee through us).
  • A short, multiple choice, theory test which is taken as part of the online theory session.
  • Local / organisation relevant information update session which since January 2024 became part of the minibus driving assessment session.
  • In minibus driving assessment, which takes about 1.5 hours, including the localised information session.  Dates/times to be agreed with assessor/trainer in advance to ensure minibus is also available.

Until the end of 2023 those who had held a MiDAS Driver certificate which had recently expired or was about to expire could renew their certificate by the taking refresher version of the classroom theory session, a short theory test and another minibus driving assessment but since January 2024 the refresher follows the new format for first time MiDAS candidates.

If you wish to apply for a MiDAS Driver Certificate or wish to renew a certificate which is about to expire, please notify us of your interest by sending an email to the email address in the Contact Us section at the bottom of this page.  You need to contact us to pay for and obtain your login credentials for the new online theory course and to schedule the localised information and minibus driving session.

For the minibus driving assessment you can ask us to arrange a minibus for the driving assessment or you can provide your own minibus (or hire one) at your own expense.  Please note that as both you and your MiDAS trainer will need to drive the minibus you will need to ensure that whoever will be your MiDAS minibus driving assessor is included in the hire agreement / included on the insurance if you provide the minibus.

Our scheduled Driving Assessment sessions can be found in our District Diary.  If these dates are not suitable please contact us as we may be able to schedule extra sessions or run a special session just for your driver(s).

Our MiDAS training charges for new training scheme from April 2025 to March 2026 are (includes cost of online theory session):

  • For MiDAS training (new or refresher candidates) using minibus supplied by us – £80
  • For MiDAS training (new or refresher candidates) using their own minibus – £60
  • For those who need to take an additional driving assessment following a previous assessment where the minibus driving was not up to the standard required by MiDAS – using minibus supplied by us – £40 
  • For those who need to take an additional driving assessment following a previous assessment where the minibus driving was not up to the standard required by MiDAS – using their own minibus – £15 

You (your group or unit) will be invoiced for training prior to registering you for the online theory session.

Where there is only one candidate for a scheduled driving session we reserve the right to either cancel the session or to cover the extra cost by charging an additional £10.  The additional £10 charge also applies if we arrange a special session for one candidate using minibus arranged by us.

Where a candidate supplies their own minibus there may be additional charges to cover any mileage the assessor may need to incur to travel to where the minibus is located.  A suitable driving route will also need to be available or designed.

Other organisations:  These charges are for those with an adult appointment in Cotswold Edge Scout District and other scout districts within Avon Scout County.  For other organisations please contact us to agree prices.  Please email us on the email address in the Contact Us section at the bottom of this page, to discuss your requirements.

Licence Requirements: To drive a minibus you must be over 21 years of age and held your full driving licence for over 2 years.  Anyone over 70 years of age must have taken a medical to keep minibus entitlement on their licence.  Those who hold a car category B licence, without D1, who can only drive a standard minibus plated up to 3500Kg MAM, or 4250Kg for an accessible minibus.

When you apply for your MiDAS training you will be invoiced for the training before attending and you will also need to provide the following (where we are arranging the minibus this information will also be shared with Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport, the organisation we hire our minibuses from):

  • Image (scan or photograph) of existing recently expired or about to expire MiDAS driver certificate (only for renewals where details are not already held on district records)
  • Image (scans or photographs) of front and back of photo driving licence (or of paper licence if still hold old style licence)
  • Driving licence information .pdf file obtained from gov.uk/view-driving-licence (enter your driving licence number, NI number and Postcode and click View now, followed by Get your check code, then Get a Code, and finally print or save a driving summary which downloads a .pdf file)

Note: Candidates who don’t have access to their own minibus for the MiDAS driving session will need to meet the driver requirements of Four Towns and Vale Link Community Transport i.e. will need to be at least 23 years of age and held a full licence for over 3 years.

Section 19 Minibus Permits

 In order to operate legally Groups will need their own Section 19 permit(s), which last 5 years, need 1 for each minibus being used concurrently, need to be displayed in windscreen of minibus and must be “in date”, fully legible (i.e. writing not faded) and cover all classes of persons being carried on the minibus.  Check your current permits regularly and renew replace as required.  You are advised to think carefully about the “classes” of persons entitled to be carried on the bus, as this has proved to be crucial (VOSA/DVSA have impounded minibuses carrying the wrong class of passenger). The following page on The Scout Association Website has more information about Section 19 permits: The Scout Association Section 19 Minibus Permit.  Details of how to apply for a Section 19 Minibus Permit through the new Scout Association digital tools can be found at:  How to apply for Section 19 Minibus Permit.  The scout Association will offer Classes A&B but for all classes including Class F you will need to apply for a permit through the traffic commissioner / DVSA, for Class F in Section 4 you would be wise to write something along the lines of: “Members of the Scout Movement and their parents and helpers,” or “Members of the 1st Nether Wallop Group Scout Council and helpers.” Those of you with just “Members of the Scout Movement” cannot carry their parents, for example, as they are not members (but they are members of the Group Scout Council – but, of course, their grannies are not, but they can be classed as “helpers”)! We advise that you include helpers as a catch-all and members of other organisations must be included if events being run and transported include others e.g. activity instructors, other groups, units or Guirlguiding.

Section 19 Minibus Permits must be in the name of the Legal Entity (Charity) using the minibus – for Groups (including sections in a Scout Group) that is the name of the Scout Group e.g. “2nd Anytown Scout Group”,  For Explorers Units you will need a Section 19 permit issued to the District i.e. for our district that would be “Cotswold Edge Scout District” (Note it should not be issued in the name of an Explorer Unit because Explorer Units are not a legal entity, any more than Cub Packs are), under POR Explorer Units are part of the district and therefore the legal entity is the District.

Don’t forget, if you loan or rent your bus out to another Group or organisation, make sure that they also have a Section 19 valid permit, because they can’t drive on your Section 19 permit. You might want to ask for a scan to be emailed to you if another Group or organisation wants to use your bus.

If you are hiring a Community Transport minibus as a member of that Community Transport organisation (e.g. 4 Towns and Vale Link CT,  Green Community Travel or Kingswood CT) then you can drive a minibus under their Section 19 permit because as a member of that group they exist to support your activities and therefore their Section 19 permit covers your use of the minibus.  If you hire or borrow a minibus from another Scout Group or organisation you will need your own Section 19 permit including when you hire a minibus from a commercial organisation e.g. from U-Drive, you will need to display your own Section 19 permit.

Note that if your Section 19 permit has faded and no longer legible it must be replaced to remain legal.  Faded permits can be replaced free of charge by returning the permit back to whoever first issued it (e.g. Scout Association if they issued it) who can reissue the permit (you need both the disk and the form it came with to get it reissued with the same validity period as the original).

Wanted volunteer to train to become a MiDAS Driver Assessor

In order to ensure a succession plan for continuing to offer the MiDAS scheme within Cotswold Edge District, during the next couple of years (by end of 2026) we will be needing to find at least one more MiDAS Driver Assessor.  The candidate(s) will ideally drive to a high standard e.g. ROSPA or IAM RoadSmart Advanced Driver and be able to objectively teach / assess skills e.g. may have been an IAM Observer, Driving Instructor or Examiner.  The candidate could also be a commercial lorry, van, minibus or coach driver.  These are not requirements but having the availability to periodically run minibus driving assessments is essential and already be involved in Scouting within Cotswold Edge District or Avon County Scouts.  Could this be you or someone you know?  There is a 2 day course that you will need to attend, district will pay the costs of this training, and retraining every 2 years.  To find out more about becoming a MiDAS Driver Assessor then please contact us – see the Contact Us below.

Contact Us

To contact the District MiDAS trainers please Email: MiDAS cesd which will send an email copied to all members of the District MiDAS training team.