The UK government has announced the appointment of two Freelance Champions who, it says, will advocate for the 703,000 people working in the creative industries who are self-employed.

The two appointees are Leila D’Aronville, founder of the North East Cultural Freelancers network, and Lizzie Crump, who is a director of What Next?, an organisation that brings together people and companies working in arts and culture.

Announcing the appointments, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says, “The creative industries are built on the talent and dedication of freelancers, from runners on film sets to session musicians in recording studios”.

Those freelancers, she adds, “deserve fulfilment and support in their careers like anyone else in work, and that’s exactly what the appointment of the Freelance Champions sets out to do”.

According to government figures, 28.5% of the UK’s 2.6 million strong creative industries workforce are self-employed, which is almost double the rate for the wider economy.

While some of those freelancers have trade organisations that represent their interests when it comes to policy debates, it has generally been felt that many challenges faced by those who are self-employed in the creative sectors have gone unaddressed.

The government acknowledged those challenges and announced the plan to appoint a Freelance Champion in its Creative Industries Sector Plan last year. Ministers then took a pretty long time to appoint anyone into the role, before ultimately deciding there should be two Freelance Champions.

Among other things D’Aronville and Crump will sit on the Creative Industries Council, and will also support industry initiatives that seek to address issues raised by the 2023 Good Work Review that put the spotlight on job quality across the creative industries.

Commenting on her appointment, D’Aronville says, “As someone who grew up in a freelancing family, and who continues to work freelance while championing the North East’s independent creative and cultural workforce, I know first-hand the pressures and possibilities that shape freelance lives”.

“Freelancers are essential to the UK’s creative and cultural strength, yet too often misunderstood or overlooked”, she adds.

“Lizzie and I are determined to change that. We will work with government, industry and freelancers themselves to build a fairer, more informed environment, one that recognises the realities of freelance work and supports people to build sustainable, rewarding careers”.

The government has also announced that D’Aronville and Crump will be supported in their work as Freelance Champions by Dave O’Brien, Professor Of Cultural And Creative Industries at the University Of Manchester.