Honours System

How decisions are made

The award of honours, decorations and medals has to be limited and regulated strictly for any award to have any significance to the recipient. However, it is important to bear in mind that the eventual decision made regarding an honour is subjective.

Criteria

The committee considers the appropriate order and level. There is no need to specify this in any nomination

Which Order?

• Senior Civil Servants and military officers may be considered for the Order of the Bath
• Diplomats and others serving the UK abroad may be considered for the Order of St Michael and St George
• Anyone may be considered for awards in the Order of the British Empire
• Anyone may be considered for the award of Companion of Honour

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Which level?

Once the Order has been identified the criteria below are used by committees for deciding the level of award. The assessment committees also use precedent to aid their consideration.

Companion of Honour
A pre-eminent and sustained contribution in the arts, science, medicine, or government.

Knight/Dame
Awarded for a pre-eminent contribution in any field of activity, through:

• achievement or service to the community usually, but not exclusively, at national level; or
• in a capacity which will be recognised by peer groups as inspirational and significant nationally; and
• which demonstrates sustained commitment.

CBE
Awarded for:

• a prominent national role of a lesser degree; or 
• a conspicuous leading role in regional affairs, through achievement or service to the community; or 
• making a highly distinguished, innovative contribution in his or her area of activity.

OBE
Awarded for:

• a distinguished regional or country-wide role in any field;
• through achievement or service to the community;
• including notable practitioners known nationally.

MBE
Awarded for:

• achievement or service in and to the community of a responsible kind which is outstanding in its field; or
• very local 'hands-on' service which stands out as an example to others.

In all cases awards illuminate areas of dedicated service which merit public recognition.

In terms of service the difference is determined by the extent of the person's influence. In terms of achievement the difference is determined by the significance of the person's impact in their chosen profession.

Sample cases

The samples shown below illustrate the kind of cases that would be considered for each award. They are generic examples and should not be used as a benchmark.

MBE For services to Oxfam in Lanarkshire

She works as volunteer shop manager for Oxfam in Blankburgh, Lanarkshire, one of the most profitable volunteer-run Oxfam shops in the country. The shop has no paid staff and yet has managed to increase its sales by 25% in the last three years. She is an energetic, enthusiastic and above all committed volunteer who has given years of service to Oxfam's work with the poor and oppressed. She is the face of Oxfam in her community and her leadership and support has built a team of over 50 volunteers in the shop.

She has also played a leading role in fundraising activities and community work in the area. This has included leading a team of volunteers running an adult group for physically disabled people and those with learning difficulties. She co-founded and has helped to run the club, a sub group of the Handicapped Children's Organisation, since 1984. The club is made up of approximately 50 members aged between 16 and 70. She organises three annual parties to which carers and parents are invited, organises trips, outings and holidays, thereby helping to integrate disabled people into the community.

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MBE Gardener, Chesterburgh Foundation Garden Village. For services to the community in Chesterburgh, Warwickshire

He has served as a gardener for the Chesterburgh Foundation Garden Village for 30 years. The village was built by the Foundation over 100 years ago. It provides homes for 2500 people and remains an outstanding example of the Garden Village concept. He was appointed lead gardener in 1981 and heads a team of five staff responsible for the maintenance of the communal areas.

His work regularly extends well beyond any normal call of duty and is universally admired by the villagers. He engages in a wide range of community activities, such as the summer fair, as well as providing practical and personal support on a one-to-one basis to older and younger residents alike.

He is also involved in the restoration of the local town theatre. His persuasiveness and infectious enthusiasm encouraged people to volunteer as friends of the theatre, to assist in raising money for restoration work and to work front of house. The support they provide has grown from strength to strength and is now a driving force behind the running of the theatre.

OBE For services to the community in Castle Emrys, Glamorgan

He has been involved with a wide range of organisations in Castle Emrys, Glamorgan, over a number of years, using contacts and skills built up over a long period in the business world. As Chair of the Borough Partnership, he leads a public sector partnership in tackling inner city problems and offering opportunities in a strategic and co-ordinated way. The Partnership has set up a wide range of successful projects including the New Deal for Young People. In these and many other projects, he uses his contacts to ensure there is widespread engagement by business and other sectors.

He helped to set up St Bernadette's City Hospice 16 years ago, and is currently Chair of the Board. Over this time he has actively sought the support of others from the corporate sector. He has spoken enthusiastically to a variety of audiences about the work of the hospice, and finds time to give quiet and subtle support to patients and carers.

He has supported the imaginative Bridge to Business project, encouraging students in a deprived area to seriously consider a career in business; they attend lectures by business managers, and then gain experience through work placements.

He is a governor of Brown Hill Special School, attending the school on a weekly basis. He has encouraged the school's entrepreneurial activities at an academic and practical level, and is an unfailingly wise contributor to the school's strategy, as well as contributing financially to several of its projects.

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OBE For services to the community in Westmead, North Yorkshire and to the Girl Guide Movement

She has made a big difference to community and environmental development in Westmead, North Yorkshire, and more widely. She joined the local branch of the Women's Institute (WI) in 1970, quickly becoming secretary, a position she held until 1993. She is currently a trustee and president of the local WI. She has been in the Girl Guide Movement since 1965, and is currently still actively involved, holding various posts including training officer and programme adviser. She still speaks at Guide events in the county and helps with activities at international camps. Additionally, she has written a number of publications for the Movement and has represented UK Guiding abroad.

She has been a director of the North Yorkshire Canals Group Trust since 1999. Her efforts have enabled them to extend their work on community development, environmental enhancement and education to new audiences.

In 1987 she was appointed as a Justice of the Peace to the town bench, where she is still a serving member, and appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Bench, of which she become Chair in 1997. She has ensured that the right people have been found for the Magistracy from a cross section of the population. Despite ill health, she has maintained her commitments to all the organisations with which she is involved and continues to provide valuable service to the community.

CBE For services to Disabled People and to the community in North Devon

She is Chair of Access, an organisation providing advice to the County Council and to planners on disabled access in building design. In 1985 this work was complemented by her election to the board of the Organisation for Accessible Environments which provides similar guidance to a wider audience. She became Vice-Chair and did much to raise awareness of the needs of disabled users amongst planners and architects.

She has also served in a voluntary capacity in senior positions for a variety of organisations, ranging from the waterways to local government and education. She has been a member of the West Marsh Authority in North Devon since it was set up in 1986, and its Chair since 1996. The Authority manages protected wetland, working to conserve and enhance its natural beauty, promote its enjoyment and protect the interests of navigation. She commands the respect of all the members of the Authority through difficult debates on how its land should be managed, and is not afraid to make difficult decisions.

She has been a member of the District Council since 1983, chairing several committees while focusing particularly on planning and the environment. She served as Chair of the Council in 1996-97. She has been a board member of the Area Tourism Agency since it was established in 1989, and Chair since 1994. Under her guidance it has developed into a respected and effective marketing agency, generating income and jobs for the local community by developing and promoting tourism.

She is also a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant, and a member of the District Health Authority. The success of many of the above bodies has been built on the trust and respect she has maintained with all parties, through her considerable talent of keeping diverse interests focused on common objectives. She is Deputy Chair of the Greater Village Regeneration Trust, and was a deputy director of the Education Company from 1990 to 1995.

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CBE For services to Education in the Northland Region

He has worked as a practitioner, teacher, academic and consultant to a wide range of groups, voluntary organisations and local authorities for over 40 years. His pre-eminence in the field was recognised in 1995 by his appointment as the first Chair of Community Education in the Northland region. For many years he has given his time voluntarily, teaching youth work methods and techniques to managers, staff and volunteers of the YMCA. He has chaired a number of regional committees including the Northland Region Council of YMCA's training and development committee and the Prince's Trust for the region.

He served for six years as an unpaid board member of District Learning North and also as a member of the Northland Region Youth Work Partnership. He was the founding editor of the journal Northern Youth Matters.

He has also had an eminent career in the statutory sector, which led to the post of Assistant Director of Education for the district, with responsibility for community education. He set up the Centre for Youth Work Studies at the University of Northland, and remained, until retirement, its Director. He initiated and organised a biannual international conference for field practitioners, managers, researchers and academic staff members. The 2003 conference involved colleagues from Eastern Europe. He has been proactive in the teaching, organisation and direction of multilateral seminars for Eastern European youth workers for the last four years.

He has been instrumental in taking forward wider understanding and development of community education, most recently leading a piece of work commissioned by the Government, to define the purpose of youth work and measure performance.

Knight Bachelor For public service in Southland

Since retiring from a successful career in accountancy, he has played a leading role in three different areas of activity. In 1989 he became a member of the Southland Health Care Trust and was appointed Chair in 1990. Prior to his appointment the Trust had been struggling both financially and in achieving its health care targets. He quickly turned things around by setting up a finance sub-committee to ensure the future wellbeing of the Trust's finances. He also introduced a streamlined admission system for patients which has proved so successful that it has been identified as an example of good practice and is now adopted by health trusts nationally. He stepped down as Chair in 1998 but continues to sit as a board member.

In 1998 he was appointed as a non-executive and unpaid member of the Police Service Strategy Board, now known as the Strategy Board for Crime Prevention. In this capacity he advised the Director General of the Board on the use of the private sector within the police service. His work in this area has helped bring about the more effective use of special constables and neighbourhood watch co-ordinators. He has also encouraged closer liaison between the police and community leaders. He is currently a member of the Home Office Management Board and is playing an important role in the modernisation of the Home Office.

In 1999 he became a member of the Council of the University of Southland and was soon appointed Chairman and Pro-Chancellor. Since then he has skilfully led the university through a challenging period of dwindling resources combined with the introduction of tuition fees and has maintained confidence and stability. Indeed during his term of office, he has significantly improved the quality of management and has established the university as a major contributor to regional economic development. It is now top of the UK league in terms of access by students from lower socio-economic groups.

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Dame For services to journalism and the elderly

She has been an innovative and highly respected figure in the magazine industry for 25 years. She pioneered the development of magazines for the elderly with the creation of her publishing company Pelcee Ltd and its leading title Then! in 1983. As the first editor she encouraged readers to contribute articles themselves and the magazine built up a large group of contributors. As the readership grew, she realised there was a market for a more diverse range of titles. By 1987 Pelcee was publishing Knitters' Digest, Veteran Autos and Gardening for Health. Although the magazines were aimed at the lower end of the market the company was sufficiently profitable to expand its operations overseas.

Today the company has an annual turnover of £50m, employs 2500 staff and distributes its magazines in ten countries and three languages. Her contributors have helped to form worldwide networks and she has used the magazines to advertise trips, social events, and reunions in collaboration with charities like Help the Aged. Under her leadership the company has diversified its media output by producing several television documentaries for the BBC as well as the weekly Then! programme on Radio Four.

Recently she has tried to encourage her readers to learn how to use the internet. So-called silver surfers have been taught how to navigate the web and use e-mail and Pelcee has developed a series of internet sites specifically for the elderly which also provide advice and information on topics like benefits and welfare.

Although she remains a non-executive director of the company, her experience and enthusiasm have led to her being sought after for advice by many charities and public sector bodies. Work for the Government has included a well-received study of financial insolvency among the elderly in Northland and Southland. She has established a scholarship fund to enable elderly people to undertake further education courses. So far this has led to over 100 people gaining qualifications (including Open University degrees). Her work has been recognised by two honorary degrees, the Business Women's Leadership Award (1990 and 2001) and the Southland Education Award.

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'A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow. The task of drawing up regulations for such awards is one which does not admit of a perfect solution. It is not possible to satisfy everybody without running the risk of satisfying nobody. All that is possible is to give the greatest satisfaction to the greatest number and to hurt the feelings of the fewest.' WS Churchill, House of Commons, 22 August 1944