Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how graduates in portfolio careers are classified in official statistics where their principal recorded source of income differs from their professional or creative practice; whether secondary occupations and ongoing creative activity are captured in the Graduate Outcomes survey or related datasets; and what assessment they have made of the effect of such classification practices on measured estimates of the size of the creative workforce.

Earnings and employment outcomes in the Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) official statistics cover all employment and income reported to HMRC, whether from salaried employment, self-employment or freelance work.

The Graduate Outcomes survey publication provides annual pay information for graduates’ main employment during census week, 15 months after graduation. This question is not mandatory and salaries are self-reported, whether salaried work, self-employment or freelanced work. Salary information is published by annual salary bands or medians.

Skills England estimated the workforce size and demand levels in the creative industries sector in their publication ‘Assessment of priority skills in 2030’. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assessment-of-priority-skills-to-2030/assessment-of-priority-skills-to-2030.