Workers' Safety Adviser Challenge Fund award winners announced

HSE press release C003:06 1 March 2006

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, minister responsible for health and safety, today announced the 13 award winners from the third round of the Workers' Safety Adviser (WSA) Challenge Fund. The aim of the fund is to increase worker involvement and consultation.

Lord Hunt said, "For a third consecutive year, HSE has received a tremendous response to the WSA Challenge Fund, in terms of both the quantity and quality of bids. Some are built on the good work from the previous two rounds. All the award winners have presented convincing, well thought-out plans for building partnerships and driving improvements in occupational health and safety."

Successful projects are based on organisations working in partnerships to generate and improve collaboration between employers and workers in small firms.

The third round winners are from a wide range of industries, including the construction, hospitality, printing, retail and voluntary sectors. Project partners include trade unions, trade associations, local authorities, primary care trusts, voluntary organisations and business organisations.

Each project has been awarded between £52,777 and £100,000 to engage and enthuse employers and workers alike, through the activities of the Workers' Safety Advisers they employ, to establish collaborative environments in which to drive through improvements in occupational health and safety.

Increasing worker involvement has been shown to improve health and safety performance and is a key part of the HSC strategy. Workers who have a voice, influence and responsibility on health and safety matters are safer and healthier than those who do not. An essential part of HSC's vision, is a fully involved workforce and a vibrant system of workplace health and safety representatives operating in partnership with management.

The WSA Challenge Fund was established in 2004 and is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions who are providing £3 million over a three-year period. The focus of the Fund is small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking arrangements for involving their workforce in the management of their own and others health and safety.

Great Britain loses over 39 million workdays through work related accidents and ill health each year. This not only represents a considerable financial loss to business and society but can also have serious financial, physical and emotional implications for the individuals off work and their families. The strategy recognises that to improve occupational health and safety performance, HSC must win the hearts and minds of everyone in the workplace - hence the focus on working in partnership with stakeholders.

Lord Hunt continued, "The 46 influential partners and 23 Workers' Safety Advisers that make up the award winners will be able to reach out to workers in almost 800 small and medium-sized organizations. Working with employers and employees they will be able to achieve measurable and sustained changes to their organisations' culture and behaviours."

"We're very pleased that the winners represent a good cross-section of Great Britain both sectorally and nationally, with Scotland and Wales again represented this year. We see partnership working as one of our prime vehicles for promoting and persuading stakeholders of the benefits of sensible health and safety. The Fund has given us an opportunity to support a wide-range of diverse stakeholders, through innovative partnerships and we wish them every success!"

Notes to editors

1 The Workers' Safety Adviser Challenge Fund award winners were announced today at a lunch held at the Work Foundation in London. Attendees included representatives of industry, local authorities, health care organisations, trade unions and the voluntary sector, as well the Challenge Fund award winners.

2 Andrew Smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, announced the creation of the WSA Challenge Fund in October 2003. Funds of £3m (£1m in 2004/5, £1m in 2005/6 and £1m in 2006/7) were granted to HSE to take forward the Fund. More detailed information on the Challenge Fund, including previous press releases, is available at www.wsa-cf.org.

3 An independent Management Board appointed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) assessed the applications for Challenge Fund awards against the published criteria and made recommendations to the HSE for approval. HSE received 57 bids for the WSA Challenge Fund. Details of all the winning projects, including the amounts awarded, are given in note 7 below.

4 HSC published its Strategy for workplace health and safety in Great Britain to 2010 and beyond on 23 rd February 2004. The strategy aims to promote a vision of health and safety as a cornerstone of a civilised society and to achieve a record of workplace health and safety that leads the world. www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/strategiesandplans/strategy.htm

5 HSC has published a Statement on Worker Involvement and Consultation. The statement reflects the vital importance the HSC places on having a workforce that is fully involved in health and safety. For more details see. www.hse.gov.uk/involvement/

6 A WSA Pilot run in 2002 introduced new mechanisms for deploying safety representatives into small firms to act as WSAs. This sector is notoriously hard to reach and one that needs particular support in encouraging the partnerships and joint working fundamental for improving health and safety. Some 88 employers participated. Surveys before and after the Pilot showed that WSAs' involvement led to improvements in small non-unionised workplaces' approach to health and safety. Nearly 73% of employers said awareness of health and safety matters had increased and a third said communications had improved. Over 75% of employers said they had changed their approach to health and safety and nearly 70% of workers observed an increase in the amount of discussion on health and safety. The Pilot facilitated the creation of safety committees in some workplaces and joint working on risk assessments and training. For more details see: www.hse.gov.uk/press/2003/c03045.htm.

Workers' Safety Adviser Challenge Fund - Third Round Award Winners

Name and Status of Lead Partner	Partners	Region	Number of SMEs* and Sector	No. of WSAs	Award
ABF Enterprise4All Business Support Organisation	University of Salford; Northwest Food Alliance	North West	90 SMEs Cross Sectoral Ethnic Minority Business	1	£95000
Cylch Charity	Centre for Environment Research and Expertise (CHERE)	Wales	20 SMEs Recycling	1	£57173
Deudraeth CYF Community Development Organisation	Hyfforddiant A470 Training; Gaia Technologies PLC	Wales	50 SMEs Cross sectoral	1	£76095
Doncaster Women's Aid Charity	Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council; Judith House Refuge, Barnsley; Rotherham Refuge; Haven House, Sheffield.	Yorkshire	9 SMEs - Plus materials produced to be used by 438 partner organisations Voluntary	2	£52777
Federation of Master Builders Trade Association	Transport and General Workers Union; Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians	Scotland	70 SMEs Construction	3	£96144
Groundwork Oldham and Rochdale Environmental Regeneration Charity	Oldham MBC; Rochdale MBC; Asian Business Association; Ethnic Minority Business Support/Kashmir Youth Project Rochdale; Groundwork Bury and Bolton; The Ethnic Minority Business Service; Bury Metropolitan Council; Bolton Council Adult Services Department	North West	80 SMEs Cross Sectoral Ethnic Minority Business	2	£80700
Health@Work Charity	Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Trade and Industry; North West TUC Education Unit; Knowsley Environmental Health; Liverpool Environmental Health and Trading Standards; Liverpool PCT; Muslim Enterprise Development Services	North West	60 SMEs Retail and hospitality	2	£97432
Marine South West Business Development Agency	Cornwall Marine Network	South West	80 SMEs Marine	2	£99852
Park Royal Partnership # Not-for-profit urban regeneration organisation	GMB (London Region)	Park Royal, West London	60 SMEs Cross Sectoral Ethnic Minority Business	1	£87300
Scarborough Enterprise Agency Not-for-Profit Business Development Organisation	Whitby Development Agency; Bedale Business Solutions Ltd; Carven and Harrogate Business Enterprise Centre.	Yorkshire	40 SMEs Tourism and hospitality	2	£100000
St Helens Chamber Ltd Chamber of Commerce	St Helens Council; St Helens Primary Care Trust	North West	100 SMEs Cross Sectoral	1	£99478
UCATT Trade Union	National Federation of Builders; Construction Confederation	Yorkshire, North East and North West	70 SMEs Construction	3	£80000
Welsh Automotive Sector Not-for-Profit Sector Forum	Delyn Management Associates	Wales	60 SMEs Automotive	2	£99900
13 Projects	33 Project Partners	UK Wide	789 SMEs - Plus 438 further organisations	23 WSAs	£1,121,941

* - Small and Medium-sized enterprises
# - Funded for two years from Second Round

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