The Chair of the Health and Safety Commission (HSC), Sir Bill Callaghan has received a Distinguished Service Award from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), in recognition for his outstanding contribution to health and safety management at work.

The RoSPA annual awards scheme has been running for over 50 years and acknowledges the commitments and contributions Sir Bill Callaghan has made to health and safety in the workplace, including his involvement in refocusing the efforts of the Health and Safety Executive and its partners to reduce work-related injuries and ill health.

On receiving the award, Sir Callaghan said: "I am thrilled to receive this award and delighted that our achievements on health and safety in the workplace have been recognised. Although, this award reflects the efforts made by all stakeholders, it is important to continue to raise awareness of the importance of ‘sensible safety’ in the workplace and raise the standards for occupational health."


Sir Bill Callaghan has played a leading role in ensuring and managing health and safety in the workplace. He was instrumental in driving forward the ‘Revitalising Health and Safety’ initiative, key dimensions of which included director leadership of health and safety, workforce involvement, performance improvement targets and the creation of HSE priority topics.

He has also championed the development and implementation of HSC’s strategy to 2010 and beyond, which has led to a strengthening of HSE’s partnership with local authorities and a reinvigoration of HSE’s occupational health agenda, integrating this with the government’s plans to improve health, work and well-being.

Prior to taking up appointment as HSC Chair, Sir Callaghan was the Chief Economist and Head of the Economic and Social Affairs Department at the TUC. He served on the Low Pay Commission from 1997-2000 and played a key role in the introduction of the National Minimum Wage in April 1999.

(JM/SP)