FMTW warmly congratulates Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump on their appointment as the UK Government’s new Freelance Champions.
We are also pleased to see the Government describe the purpose of the appointments in clear terms:
“Freelancers will be put at the heart of the Government’s decision-making on the creative industries, as two new Freelance Champions have been appointed to represent the sector.”
The role has been a long time coming and will give the UK’s 703,000 creative freelancers a new voice within government, including representation on the Creative Industries Council.
We are really pleased to see the role being taken on by two people who understand freelance working first-hand. Leila is the founder of North East Cultural Freelancers, while Lizzie is a Co-Director of What Next? Between them, they bring 40 years of experience working in and advocating for the creative and cultural sectors.
FMTW was one of the organisations involved in developing the role through DCMS’s Self-Employed Creators working group, helping to write its Terms of Reference and Role Specification alongside DCMS and partners from across the creative industries. It is good to see that work now move from an idea into an active role.
There is, of course, a great deal still to do. The appointment alone will not solve the longstanding problems around pay, security, rights, protections and working conditions. However, having people within government who understand the realities of freelance life is an important step.
We look forward to working with Leila and Lizzie, sharing the experiences of freelancers working across theatre and live performance, and seeing how the role develops over the months and years ahead.
A warm welcome to them both.