Making decisions about how to honour individuals who died as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic and pay tribute to those who participated in the remarkable response has reached a critical point.
The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration’s membership and mandate have been announced by the government today in response to the prime minister’s announcement.
The commission will collaborate with the Devolved Administrations and interact with the public, especially those who have lost loved ones, as well as the public at large.
The Rt Hon Baroness (Nicky) Morgan of Cotes, a former culture secretary, will lead the commission that consults with groups and communities throughout the UK.
Nicky Morgan is joined on the Commission by:
The CBE Sir Nicholas Coleridge
Rt Hon. Dr. Nadine Cossette Denise Hayward Caroline Flint
General Sir Gordon Messenger was awarded the OBE and DL by Felicia Kwaku.
The OBE Gillian Norton Ndidi Okezie, DL
Keshav Singhal, Ph.D., MBE FLSW
Lord True, a Cabinet Office Minister under Sir Mark Walport, FRCP, FRCPath, FRS, and HonFRSE, said:
Every part of our life and every region of the UK have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19.
Everyone in the UK must be given the chance to grieve for their loved ones.
Additionally, it is appropriate that we commemorate the incredible sacrifices that so many people made.
The commission will reach an agreement on the measures that will be put in place to communicate the tale of this time in our history and remember those we lost into the future, from the bravery of frontline workers who kept us going to the creativity of those who invented the life-saving vaccines.
The UK Commission on Covid Commemoration, which is separate from the independent Covid-19 Public Inquiry, will give interested parties and members of the public specific chances to call attention to current memorialization projects and offer suggestions on additional commemoration plans.
By the end of March 2023, the Prime Minister will receive a report from it.
By Nicky Morgan
I consider it an honour to serve as the Commission on Covid Commemoration’s chair, and I’m dedicated to achieving a broad agreement on how to remember the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Commission will facilitate a national dialogue in which those who lost loved ones and those who made significant contributions to the UK’s response—such as those who volunteered at immunisation clinics, watched out for their neighbours, and worked in the front lines of the NHS, social care, and other vital services like food distribution and transportation—will be heard.
Every element of our lives was impacted by the pandemic, which also spread to every part of the nation.
In order to determine how we may reflect on and commemorate this momentous event in our shared history, the Commission will hear from individuals all around the UK.