Last March, I don’t think any of us could have imagined the challenges we’d face in the next 12 months.
Those challenges have come into every part of our lives. They’ve changed how, and sometimes where, we work; they’ve affected how we spend our free time; they’ve led to us missing our loved ones; and sadly, for some of us, they’ve led to the illness and loss of family and friends.
As we mark the anniversary of the first nationwide ‘lockdown’, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the last year and the incredible work done - in the face of adversity and sometimes personal tragedy - by the thousands of people working in our courts and tribunals.
In those early weeks of the pandemic, huge parts of life shutdown: businesses shut their doors; schools were closed to most students; and weddings, holidays, and social events were postponed.
Some of us switched to working from home, often while trying to juggle home schooling with our work commitments. Many others, meanwhile, kept travelling to work, and remained in public-facing roles despite the virus.
It was also a time of tremendous worry, particularly for those who are especially vulnerable to the virus or those with elderly or unwell friends and relatives. Even those lucky enough to be in robust health could be struck down by COVID, as the many stories on TV and in the newspapers showed.
Thousands of people were told to ‘shield’ for their own protection – hardly able to enjoy the glorious weather that helped to offset the horrible news coming to us each day, from both close to home and around the globe.
Saddest of all is that, as the year progressed, tens of thousands of people lost a loved one. Those losses have affected all of us.
But in the past year I’ve also witnessed tremendous fortitude and kindness, not least from HMCTS staff and contractors, who have worked tirelessly to keep court and tribunal services running, at times in the face of personal tragedy.
And from the start we’ve been supported by legal professionals, the judiciary, and our partners through the justice system. We couldn’t have carried on without them.
Pausing the justice system was not an option, even if face-to-face work reduced significantly for a time while we put in place measures to make our courts and tribunals buildings COVID-safe.
Across the country our people faced exactly the same challenges as the rest of the population in getting supermarket slots, or caring for children or older relatives. Yet, they kept working – from homes, offices, courts and tribunals and kept making sure that essential services were running.
I’ve always been immensely proud of the people in HMCTS. But even more so in the past year as they have shown time and again that what they do is more than just a job. When the time came, I never doubted they would step up to the mark to do what was needed to keep courts and tribunals services functioning.
In the most challenging situation many of us have ever faced, our people didn’t just keep doing things in the usual way, they innovated.
Digital processes were rapidly expanded or improvised, remote hearings were used in new ways and existing pilots were opened up to the whole country. Our existing courts and tribunals buildings were adapted to allow for socially distanced working. And we’ve even opened more than 50 new courtrooms – the Nightingale Courts – to allow us to hear more cases.
Our people did all of this to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society: including victims, witnesses, defendants, at-risk children and people appealing decisions about benefits, immigration status and mental health care.
The challenges of COVID in our personal lives, in society, and in HMCTS aren’t over yet. But with the rollout of the vaccine we can finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
We’re working hard towards recovery, and we’re well on our way to making sure that the disruptions of the past year are mitigated and reduced. There may be more bumps in the road ahead, but we can now believe that we are past the darkest days of the pandemic.
On this very sombre anniversary – one that none of us ever wanted to mark – I want to thank once again the incredible people in HMCTS, the judiciary, our justice partners and all professional court users. Together, we have made it through an exceptionally challenging year and kept justice running.