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The Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Ian Murray)
The DCMS Secretary of State (Lisa Nandy) has appointed Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump to the role of creative freelance champion, to ensure that the voice of this vital workforce is heard at the heart of policymaking.
Freelancers form the backbone of the UK’s creative economy—providing a significant workforce across sectors from performing arts and film production to design and crafts. They provide the agility and specialised skills that make our creative industries a global success story. However, creative freelancers face unique challenges regarding job security, skill development, and working conditions.
Lizzie Crump and Leila D’Aronville have been appointed, in a job-share working pattern, for a period of 18 months as direct ministerial appointments. Over the first six months, they will identify their priority areas of work, and define a number of set deliverables for their appointment term. They have also joined the Creative Industries Council.
The champions will act as a strategic bridge between the Department, wider Government, industry bodies, and the creative freelance community. Their terms of reference have been published online, with a remit focused on advocacy, representation and building understanding of the freelance workforce. This will mean:
Representation: Working closely with the sector to coherently represent the experiences of creative freelancers within Government, and improve the application of policy initiatives to this group.
Building understanding: Working with relevant Government Departments, arm’s length bodies, and the sector to improve understanding of this section of the workforce, and build awareness of key rights, responsibilities and resources amongst freelancers and their contractors.
The champions will be supported by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and the British Film Institute, and will work in partnership with a wide range of organisations from the sector, including unions and sector bodies.
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