On 1 September 2026, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport appointed Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump as the Government’s Freelance Champions, newly created roles intended to give the creative industries’ 703,000 self-employed workers a voice in future policy. Both appointees are freelancers themselves, with a combined 40 years of experience in and representing the sector; they were also due to sit on the Creative Industries Council, a joint industry and government forum, as set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan.

DCMS reported that in 2025, 28.5% of the UK’s 2.6 million-strong creative industries workforce were self-employed, almost double the wider economy’s rate of 14.8%. The appointees were to support industry work addressing the Good Work Review, which flagged unpaid work, limited professional development and difficult working environments alongside high job satisfaction, flexibility and autonomy, with freelancers’ job quality a particular concern. Dave O’Brien, Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries at the University of Manchester, was to support them on an academic secondment.

Cultural figures welcomed the appointments. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said freelancers deserved fulfilment and support, and the BFI, Arts Council England, Bectu and Creative PEC each welcomed the roles; Bectu said it had long campaigned for a dedicated champion. In the Creative Industries Sector Plan, launched in June 2025, the government committed an initial £380 million, targeting a substantial increase in business investment by 2035.