UCAS wins prestigious Health & Safety Award
24 May 2004

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) was presented with the Royal Society for the Protection of Accidents (RoSPA) Silver Award for Occupational Safety at a special ceremony in Birmingham on Thursday 13 May, during Safety & Health Expo 2004, the UK's premier health and safety at work exhibition.

A Gala Dinner for representatives of award-winning organisations was hosted by the President of RoSPA, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel and featured television personality Angus Deayton as guest speaker.

Health & Safety Officer, Trevor Pegler said, "It is always good to know that we are heading in the right direction and endeavouring to keep our employees safe. The RoSPA Silver Award is a further step for UCAS in obtaining and sustaining a high level of health and safety performance."

"As an active member of RoSPA and the Gloucestershire Occupational Safety Association, UCAS is delighted by the attainment of the Silver Award and the improved awareness of its employees to health and safety issues," he added.

To attain the award, UCAS submitted a portfolio of evidence detailing additions to its existing Health & Safety policy documents, further health and safety training and continued support and commitment from senior management.

Notes to editors

• UCAS is the UK's central organisation through which applications are processed for entry to full-time degrees, Foundation Degrees, HNDs and diplomas. 325 universities and colleges are part of the UCAS scheme and over 470,000 students applied for places in 2003.

• RoSPA has organised its prestigious national awards scheme since 1956 to recognise excellence in health and safety performance by both private and public sector organisations. The awards are about more than reducing the number of accidents and cases of ill-health at work. They motivate health and safety improvement in organisations by providing a scale of targets (bronze, silver and gold), provide a means of recognising and celebrating achievement in this area, and present examples of good practice to act as role models for other organisations.

• The awards reinforce the message that health and safety is good business and demonstrate an organisation's commitment to good health and safety management systems.

Press contacts

Virginia Isaac, Director of Marketing & Communications
Tel 01242 544803
Email v.isaac@ucas.ac.uk
Fax 01242 544965.

Sherien Loutfy, Communications Officers
Tel 01242 544987
Email communications@ucas.ac.uk