Probation Leads the Way for Justice and Law at the London Excellence Awards 2007

Two probation areas have been announced winners at the annual London Excellence Awards.   These awards are now in their third year and were open to organisations in and beyond London.  Run by  London Excellence, a not for profit organisation, the winners were presented with a prestigious accolade at a gala dinner at Carisbrooke Hall, London on Monday 16 July.

The award aims to recognise and reward the efforts of those organisations that strive for innovation, make continuous operational improvements and identify best practice approaches that produce success. The London Excellence Award 2007 attracted 75 entries from a variety of sectors including housing, construction, facilities management, education and justice and legal. Twelve categories of award were presented, including eight themed categories, three Best in Sector and the Blue Riband Award For Best Investor in Excellence - all covering every aspect of quality.

Kent Probation Area won the category for Management Systems for its clear sense of direction with demonstrable achievements and structured processes.

Sussex Probation Area won the Justice and Law Best in Sector Award with their People Involvement & Development submission which clearly demonstrated their passion and commitment to their staff.  This success followed on from their achievements in 2006 where Sussex won both the Results Focus and the Innovation and Learning awards.

London Probation Area completed the line up of success for the Probation Service as a finalist, narrowly missing out in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award.

The success of the Probation Service in these awards also enabled the Justice and Law Sector to climb up to No 2 in the London Excellence top five of sectors engaged in Business Excellence - up from No 4 in 2006.

The entries were assessed and judged by over 100 business leaders, who have been trained to assess against the concepts which underpin the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) Business Excellence Model. The framework is used by many organisations around the world to assess progress towards achieving excellence, and enabling them to identify key strengths and potential areas for improvement in order to perform to world-class standards.

Caroline Buttery, Chairman of London Excellence, says: "I have been privileged to read the marvelous entries submitted to London Excellence, and these are without exception impressive documents. Indeed the high standards set within all the submissions have made it very difficult for the judges to decide on the winners."