Apologies - I realise I should have said NPPL(M) rather than PPL(M). As you say, an NPPL(M) is not an ICAO license. Thanks for the opinion Whopity, appreciated.
Bose X - I couldnt find the smilie for 'wind your neck in' so how about this
. My ego doesn't require me to change the colour of my license. However, my desire to make a reasonable living in aviation does mean that yes, I do want to unfreeze my ATPL, because it will make me more marketable for future jobs. As I see it my hours spent instructing in 3 axis microlights are just as valid in practical terms as those instructing in SEPs. Not being able to count the former is annoying, but I do accept that the CAA will probably just quote the rules at me and that's that.
I do believe that there are probably a not insignificant number of other microlight instructors out there who face the same problem with their hours not counting for licenses, and I think its a shame if the CAA dont recognise their experience.