A new report from the Policy and Evidence Unit of Nesta has urged the government to appoint a Freelance Commissioner, who would act to scrutinise legislation to see whether it would be “fit for purpose” for the UK’s self-employed workforce.
Nesta says it previously wrote to Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggesting the creation of the role in November 2020, but received no official feedback. The new report is a submission to the Chancellor’s Spending Review 2021, which is due on October 27.
The report argues that policy infrastructure in the UK often doesn’t work for the creative freelance workforce, with Nesta’s Head of Policy Eliza Easton saying that, if the government lacks understanding of data regarding self-employment, then policies will largely remain inadequate for the self-employed.
In its submission, Nesta outlined what the Freelance Commissioner role could look like: “One of the primary ambitions of this Commissioner would be to ensure that Government policies are fit for purpose for freelancers.”
“The second priority should be to improve national data collection on types and structures of self-employment and ensure relevant data is being collected on operational structure and contract numbers. This data should be standardised across different government departments to give policymakers the information they need to enact better policy.”
“In order to do this they would need to be able to make cross-Whitehall recommendations and so this position should ideally sit between the Prime Minister’s Office and the Treasury.”
Nesta added: “Across the UK, no national or UK-wide skills policy should be written without fully recognising the structures, opportunities and limitations of freelance work.”
Nesta cited COVID-reskilling as an example of a policy area in which a Freelance Commissioner could contribute, particularly in the light of the sharp decline in freelancer numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The organisation said that a Freelance Commissioner would help to ensure that sectors that have a particular reliance on freelancers aren’t disadvantaged during the reskilling process.
