00:00Well-known figures often feature in honours lists alongside thousands of others.
00:06In the most recent awards actor, Idris Elba was recognised for his work with young people,
00:11while Olympic ice dancers Jane Torville and Christopher Dean were also honoured for their contribution to sport.
00:18Meera Sayal received a damehood for services to drama and charity.
00:21But honours are not limited to public figures.
00:24More than 1,000 people are recognised in each list, including volunteers, health workers and community leaders from across the
00:33UK.
00:34Recent recipients have come from a wide range of sectors, from business and the arts to grassroots community work.
00:41However, analysis suggests those based in major cities like London are far more likely to appear on honours lists,
00:48prompting calls to ensure recognition reflects contributions from all parts of the country.
00:53When you see individuals on the TV receiving their honours, when they're at their investiture ceremonies,
00:58you look at it and you think, well, you're a top, you're a high flyer.
01:01You know, I'm just doing this in my local village.
01:03It's not, I'm never going to get an honour.
01:05The King's never going to notice me.
01:08It's not true for a start.
01:10You know, what impact actually means is, and what the honours committees and system looks to recognise,
01:16are individuals that are going above and beyond in any way to create positive impact.
01:20They're contributing, they're making the UK a better place within their society, their community, as well as their sector.
01:27In terms of being nominated and getting an honour, you have to be in it to win it.
01:33And actually, it is very accessible.
01:35It's completely inclusive.
01:38Anybody can go onto the government website, download the nomination form and fill it out.
01:43The honour system recognises achievements and service across public life, from community work to national impact.
01:50Awards such as MBEs, OBEs and CBEs are decided through a nomination process where members of the public can put
01:58forward candidates.
01:59Committees then assess those nominations before recommendations are made.
02:03The latest analysis suggests that areas with greater awareness of this process or stronger professional networks may be more likely
02:10to put forward candidates successfully.
02:12I mean, in the most recent Royal Honours list, we saw Greater London receiving 217 of the national nominations.
02:21Areas that are far more remote, such as Angus, for example, received only one nomination.
02:27We are putting this down to a number of factors.
02:32And what we're calling is a nomination pipeline failure.
02:35So we think this is more down to a breakdown in the awareness and understanding of the honours process, rather
02:41than there being a depletion of talent in any of those areas.
02:45So London's going to have, you know, it's going to attract many, many people.
02:50There's a much higher density of people there.
02:53You've got a high number of business networks, institutions, for example.
02:57And you're going to have a density of individuals that are doing top flight work and creating significant impact.
03:04But being in that kind of environment, being in the city means that there is going to be a better
03:08understanding, a greater awareness of the honours system.
03:11There's going to be a greater density of people that have honours, for example.
03:14So they're more likely to talk about them to people in the more regional areas where potentially media coverage or,
03:23you know, connection into, you know, the media, for example,
03:27or any areas where you might find a density of individuals with the awareness of the honours system is going
03:32to be more scarce.
03:34But it really isn't a reflection of those individuals in those areas.
03:38Individuals in those areas are still doing their part.
03:41They're still going above and beyond.
03:43And they're still creating impact for good.
03:45Supporters of reform argue this creates what has been described as a nomination gap,
03:51where contributions in rural, coastal or less connected communities may be underrepresented.
03:56They say increasing public understanding of how to nominate someone could help broaden recognition.
04:01The government has previously said it wants the honours system to reflect the diversity of the UK
04:06and has encouraged nominations from all backgrounds.
04:10Critics, however, have long argued more transparency,
04:13and outreach may be needed.
04:14If you look at the most recent honours list, there was around 1,300, 1,400 people that were awarded.
04:20Yes, 217 of them were from London.
04:22But if you take the regionality out of it, and then you take the celebrity out of it,
04:28you're left with around 1,000 names of people that you've never heard of,
04:33that are just doing what they're doing day to day, quietly.
04:37And that is exactly who, that's the cornerstone of the honours list.
04:41So anybody that you know, that is day to day, doing what they do, going above and beyond in some
04:47way,
04:48go and nominate them, you know, absolutely nominate, download the form.
04:51You know, it's a simple process to fill out the form, but equally, you know, there are people out there
04:56that can help.
04:56There are now renewed calls for individuals, community groups and organisations to put forward names from their own areas.
05:03With nominations open throughout the year, campaigners say wider participation could help ensure future honours lists
05:10better represent contributions from across the whole country.
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