Merry Christmas and thank you for all your hard work in 2021.

As we enter the countdown to Christmas, I wanted to take this chance to wish all of you best wishes for the festive period and to thank you for all your hard work in 2021.

It’s been a busy year and we all have lots to be proud of.

I want to thank all our Research Ethics Committee members who have been central to our success, adapting to new ways of working, providing important feedback and together reviewing more than 4,300 studies, including more than 360 for COVID-19.

On behalf of everyone at the HRA, I want to let you know how much we appreciate the time you give which is helping us in our mission to protect research participants by making it easy to do high-quality, responsible research.

Despite being proud of reaching the grand age of 10 this year, like Rudolph we remain the youthful reindeer leading the way for health and social care research through the storm of COVID-19 and beyond.

Whether the Christmas break is a time for joy or quieter and more contemplative, I wish you well for it and look forward to seeing you all next year. When the real Rudolph rests it will be up, up and away for us again!

Best wishes,

Matt Westmore

Chief Executive, Health Research Authority