A WILTSHIRE volunteer group which aims to make workplaces safer has been honoured for its efforts with a top award from Safety Groups UK (SGUK).

Wiltshire Occupational Health and Safety Association (WOHSA) has been handed a gold at the annual Alan Butler Awards, which recognise excellence and achievement of organisations within the Safety Groups UK movement.

SGUK is made up of around 70 local voluntary organisations, which each consist of health and safety professionals who give up their free time to promote, share information and offer practical help to employers in their communities in a bid to prevent accidents and ill health at work.

The group was given the award for its range and quality of programme topics and for its work on its website and branding, which strengthened its professional standing and enabled the promotion of its work to the wider community.

Lord Brougham and Vaux, president of SGUK, and John Cairns, SGUK’s chairman, presented the awards during a ceremony at the House of Lords on Monday, January 25.

Derek Boulton, chairman and treasurer of WOHSA, said: “All are delighted at WOHSA with the Alan Butler Gold Award. The association has again been committed to provide a strong in-depth programme of topics for our members and wider community with the aim of enhancing health and safety performance.

“We have made an effort to put mental health and well-being firmly on the agenda, using techniques from experts to use employment as a means of recovery from mental health issues, instead of waiting for recovery before returning to work. All this with a comprehensive rebranding and website refurbishment programme to give WOSHA a more professional look."

An independent panel of judges for the award considered factors such as how groups communicated with the community and other members, their programme of events, seminars and topics offered through the year, member recruitment and retention, and how groups supported the Health and Safety Executive and its strategy.

John Cairns said: “We had a tremendous day at the House of Lords to celebrate the outstanding efforts and achievements of local safety groups. A capacity audience was present both at the morning meeting and the afternoon awards ceremony.”