Derby Homes receive major RoSPA Award for health and safety in the Public Sector
Published: 13 June 2019
Derby Homes has been handed an award in recognition of helping its staff, customers and the public stay safe throughout the working day
Derby Homes, the arms-length company that manages the council’s housing stock, has been handed a prestigious award in recognition of its practices and achievements in helping its staff, customers and the public stay safe throughout the working day.
Derby Homes has achieved a Commended in the Public Service & Local Government Sector in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK.
They were presented with the award during a ceremony at Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel on Thursday, 6 June.
The RoSPA Awards scheme, which receives entries from organisations around the world, recognises achievement in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
Derby Homes have been responsible for delivery of Derby’s homeless strategy since December 2017 and this has meant working in high risk areas, such as managing temporary accommodation (Milestone House) and the outreach work undertaken by REST (Rehousing Engagement Support Team). REST staff are out in the city centre day and night, engaging with people living on the streets and have already had a huge impact on the number of people rough sleeping in Derby.
Councillor Roy Webb, Cabinet member for Adults, Health and Housing commented:
This is something we should be very proud of. As well as it representing an incredible achievement, it also gives reassurance that the work we are doing in the city centre is being thoroughly assessed to minimize any potential risks to staff, partners and the public.
Maria Murphy, Managing Director of Derby Homes said:
To have our standards of health and safety recognised at this level is an incredible achievement. The new services we’re managing as part of delivering the city’s homeless strategy present a completely new area of work for our staff and this comes with a whole new set of risks.
Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of qualifications, awards and events, said:
The RoSPA Awards have become the key fixture in the health and safety calendar with new sponsors and new awards this year including the Leisure Safety Awards, the Safe@Work Safe@Home Award and the Inspiration Awards. Highly-respected, with almost 2,000 entrants every year, RoSPA award winners benefit from the wide-ranging rewards of improved sector reputation.
Competitive awards go to the best entries in 24 industry sectors including construction, healthcare, transport and logistics, engineering, manufacturing and education. They are presented annually for the most outstanding performance in health and safety by a company or organisation within each particular industry or sector.
Entrants must be able to demonstrate a robust and high quality safety management system together with a minimum of four years’ consistently excellent or continuously improving health and safety performance.