Arts: Self-employed

(asked on 11th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the announcement of 23 December 2021 on £1.5million of additional funding for arts freelancers in England, what estimate the Government has made of the proportion of the arts freelance workforce that will benefit from that fund.


Answered by
Nigel Huddleston Portrait
Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
This question was answered on 19th January 2022

We recognise the significant challenge the pandemic poses to our arts and creative sectors and to the many individuals and freelancers working across these industries.

Government funding via Arts Council England will provide an immediate £1.5 million emergency support to support freelancers affected by the pandemic, alongside a further £1.35 million contribution from the theatre sector. This will provide grants of £650,000 each directly to the Theatre Artists Fund, Help Musicians, and £200,000 to a-n, the Artists Information Company, a charity for visual artists which will distribute cash to freelancers over the coming weeks. We are keeping the situation under review, and will consider further interventions as needed.

Freelancers are also supported through the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund support package of almost £ 2 billion, which has helped ensure the venues and organisations which support and employ freelancers have survived the pandemic.

We will continue to work closely with freelancers and organisations across the sectors to see how we can best provide support to those affected.

Reticulating Splines