Freelancers call for a fairer future

The Wales Freelance Taskforce, launched during the Covid-19 lockdown to strengthen the influence of the self-employed theatre and performance community in Wales, has listed 87 recommendations to policy-makers for empowering the freelance workforce as the sector recovers from the impact of the crisis.

Its new report, Rebalancing and Reimagining, includes proposals for longer-term funding for individuals; an overhaul of current application mechanisms for creative project funding; and better investment in communities, like those in north Wales, which are regularly overlooked. It highlights the needs of marginalised people and those with protected characteristics, suggests changes to organisational governance, proposes that organisations and Arts Council Wales take more responsibility for the development and upskilling of freelancers, and puts forward strategies for developing and sustaining Welsh language work.