Source · Select Committees · Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Recommendation 38
38
Accepted in Part
Government and industry must increase support for film and HETV freelancers during unemployment.
Conclusion
The British film and HETV industry benefits hugely from the flexibility afforded by a predominantly freelance workforce, but in return both it and the Government need to do more to support freelancers when they are out of work. (Conclusion, Paragraph 135) 105
Government Response Summary
The government commits to appointing a creative freelance champion in 2025 and outlines ongoing work to strengthen rights and protections for the self-employed, including measures against late payments. However, it explicitly rejects introducing a guaranteed basic income for creative freelancers.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The government is committed to strengthening rights and protections to deliver good quality self-employment. DCMS will appoint a creative freelance champion to advocate for the sector’s freelancers within government. This is different to a commissioner role which requires establishing infrastructure and would take longer to implement. We will work closely with industry to develop this role, with a champion appointed in 2025. More widely, we have already announced a package of measures to tackle late payments for small businesses and the self-employed, including a new Fair Payment Code, and are committed to introducing the right to a written contract, extension of health and safety and blacklisting protections for the self-employed. The government has no plans to introduce a guaranteed basic income for creative freelancers, or minimum hourly wage over and above the national minimum wage. The government will continue to support industry to deliver the Good Work Review Action Plan to strengthen job quality across the sector, which includes support for the self-employed. The BFI has invested £1.5 million of National Lottery funding in WorkWise for Screen20 – providing industry with free-to-access resources and guidance to aid improved working practices such as contracting compliance, employment law and HR best practice. The BFI is also commissioning independent research which seeks to help productions find the ‘sweet spot’ between improving employment practices and worker retention whilst maintaining financial viability.