Message from the Lord Lieutenant
In my capacity as Lord-Lieutenant of West Midlands I ask those who work or live in the Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton areas to consider nominating outstanding individuals for an Honour, or to nominate volunteer groups for a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service and businesses for a Queen’s Award for Enterprise.
I ask that you continue the promotion of these important Honours and Awards as there are many deserving individuals, volunteer groups and businesses who need recognition.
Honours
The numbers of individuals who have received an honour in our area are well below the national average and it is clear that we need to do more to promote and encourage nominations for Honours.
We all know that there are deserving individuals who should be nominated but sometimes it requires someone to encourage a nomination. As I am involved in the later stages of this process neither I nor the Lieutenancy are able to make nominations ourselves but I hope that you may be able to see what you can do locally.
You can find information on how to nominate at https://www.gov.uk/honours.
The process of making a nomination is quite simple, letters of support are also recommended to accompany the nomination form.This prestigious UK National Honour, which has an equivalent status to the MBE, recognises the exceptional contributions made to local communities by groups voluntarily devoting their time for the benefit of others. Groups can be nominated by friends, family, and members of the public or local authorities.
Volunteering groups in the West Midlands make a huge contribution to people’s lives, often without praise for the incredible work they do. A prestigious National Honour such as The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service can prove invaluable in so many ways to their on-going success.
The importance of volunteer groups is all the more apparent in the current climate and we need to do all we can to help recognise those doing outstanding work in their local communities. If you know of a group that fits the criteria, please nominate them or encourage them to ask someone to do this on their behalf.
For more information on Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services visit https://www.gov.uk/queens-award-for-voluntary-service/overview
You can also go directly to the online nomination form at https://qavs.direct.gov.uk Nominators will be required to sign up to complete and submit a nomination form. I recommend that you read the guidance notes before completing the online nomination form as there is no facility to save partially completed forms.
