Reports

March 2025 Insight Report

Sessions: Helen Keefe (Director of Policy & Regulation, Oliver & Ohlbaum) and Nick Toon (Director, Rationale Consulting) presented findings from the recently published Pact and COBA report “Screen Sector Clusters: Securing Sustainability and Growth”; Prof Doris Ruth Eikhof (University of Glasgow) presented the findings from the recently published groundbreaking research report “Make Freelancing Pay – Can we use taxes & benefits to boost competitiveness, and improve workforce diversity and retention in the UK screen sector?“; Cristina Nicolotti Squires (Group Director for Broadcast & Media, Ofcom) took part in a major session on Ofcom’s 2025 Review of Public Service Media.

Make Freelancing Pay

“Make Freelancing Pay – Can we use taxes & benefits to boost competitiveness, and improve workforce diversity and retention in the UK screen sector?” was co-funded by a consortium led by British Screen Forum and the Film + TV Charity, and comprising Bectu, BFI, Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, Directors UK, Equity and Production Guild of Great Britain.

The report, authored by Prof Doris Ruth Eikhof (University of Glasgow) and Dr Hannah Randolph (Fraser of Allander Institute, University of Strathclyde) considers whether the UK government could use the taxes & benefit system to help retain vital skills and talent, and shore up the screen sector’s creative and economic competitiveness. The study used microsimulation modelling based on policies currently in place in Germany, France, South Korea, Spain, Ireland, and Sweden. Researchers modelled outcomes for six representative cases: freelancers on average, high, and low incomes; younger freelancers; disabled freelancers; and freelancers working outside of London—both with and without children.

Although the report makes no recommendations, we hope that its findings will help ground in evidence the current live debate about how best to secure the freelance workforce the screen sector needs.