When applying for admission to the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council approved lists, Contractors and Consultants are required to have an approved Health and Safety Policy.

Local authority health and safety and contract professionals, supported by the Health and Safety Executive, have developed the Contractor Health and Safety (CHAS) Assessment Scheme over recent years. It is now available for any public sector organisation to use in their pre-qualification process for contractor and consultant applications for approved lists. It provides information relating to the health and safety element of the application only. CHAS is not an approved or select list of contractors and will not be used as such.

In order to become an approved contractor or consultant on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council’s approved list, you need to either be CHAS assessed and approved or complete a short questionnaire (available in 'Downloads') and provide a copy of your Health and Safety policy. This information is assessed for compliance by the Council's Health and Safety team, however it is important to note that this method is not recognised by other organisations in the manner of a scheme such as CHAS.

Those applicants that wish to apply to CHAS can arrange an assessment through the CHAS administrator. You will be invited to complete the appropriate questionnaire and submit the required documentation to enable the assessment to be made. The application will be assigned to an accredited assessor who will complete the assessment and inform you of the outcome. If there is a requirement to make improvements you will be informed in writing, and may be given an opportunity to re-apply. It is recommended that you fully review your Health and Safety policy before submission. There is a small charge for the assessment.

To apply direct to CHAS, you will need to: -

• Download and fill out an application form – available on the CHAS web site (see 'Related Links')
• Gather your supporting documents (see notes on the application form)
• Contact CHAS via the web site for assessor details.

You will then be emailed the address of the next available CHAS assessor for you to send your documents and payment to. When the assessor receives the documents and payment, they will assess your application and contact you to let you know the outcome.

By logging on to the CHAS web site you will find out full details of the scheme and a list of ‘frequently asked questions’ to help you through the process.