A pioneering partnership of two local authorities has earned a prestigious award for its top-notch commitment to the health and safety of its employees, businesses and partners.

The pat on the back from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is the first national honour for the strategic alliance between the councils of High Peak Borough and Staffordshire Moorlands District.

The success came in RoSPA’s annual Occupational Health and Safety Awards in the form of a Silver medal. And the gong will be presented in a glittering ceremony at Birmingham’s Hilton Metropole Hotel on Thursday, May 14.

The award recognises the alliance’s commitment to first-class health and safety practices: not only for its own staff but also for the businesses and partner organisations that it advises.

Said RoSPA awards manager David Rawlins: “The High Peak and Staffordshire Moorlands Alliance has shown a commitment to protecting the health and well being of its employees and others.

“Entering the RoSPA awards reinforces the message that good health and safety is good for business, and clearly demonstrates an organisation’s dedication to improving performance in this crucial area”.

His words were echoed by Staffordshire Moorlands council leader Sybil Ralphs who said she was delighted by the award.

“This honour recognises the hard work of our alliance health and safety team and our managers across the two councils. A huge amount of effort is being devoted to standardising our health and safety procedures to help us work as efficiently as possible as an alliance”, she explained.

The alliance between the two councils was forged last June in a bid to create a world-class organisation providing even better and more cost-effective services than the authorities had delivered while working alone.

Fruits of the alliance so far include a joint street cleaning team and a single Chief Executive’s Office responsible for services including policy development, communications, and health and safety.

The two councils are now working hard to establish a wide range of joint frontline services, including an environmental health service to go live early in 2008/09. The councils are also putting in place a single senior management team.

By the end of the third year of the alliance, annual savings of around £1.1m are expected.