Leading figures from industry organisations Bectu, Spotlight and the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) have signed an open letter urging the UK government to create regulations to reduce on-set workplace injuries in the UK film, TV and theatre industries.
The letter was organised by Tome Levi of Injury Prevention Consultancy (IPC), and has been signed by Jen Smith, CEO of CIISA, Philippa Childs, head of creative industries’ union Bectu, Matt Hood, managing director of casting directory Spotlight, and Paul Hillier, director of media, film and TV at Tysers Insurance Brokers.
It is addressed to the secretaries of state Lisa Nandy at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Pat McFadden at the Department for Work and Pensions. It calls on the government to work with industry stakeholders to develop a framework to improve education and enforce regulations that promote the safety of cast and crew.
The letter also asks for Nandy and McFadden to join the signatories at their next meeting in October 2026.
According to the IPC’s 2024 survey of 300 people working across film, TV and theatre, 76% of film and TV workers have had an injury at work; 58% of camera-facing talent say that have been asked to perform scene material they do not feel is safely repeatable; 46% of film and TV crew have had work halted or delayed due to cast injury; and just 1% of performers said physical demand of roles is always transparently expressed in casting breakdowns.
The letter stated: “Our industry’s greatest asset is its people, and protecting their welfare is a responsibility we all share. We have heard the concerns of our colleagues, and are committed to taking action to make things better.”
It also noted: “In the Creative Industries Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the culture secretary’s [Nandy] ministerial foreword states: ‘By 2035, the UK will be recognised as the best place in the world to make and invest in film and TV, video games, music, performing and visual arts, and advertising and marketing.’
”Against the backdrop of this government’s stated aim, we ask the government to recognise that high job quality cannot coexist with high workplace injury rates, and acknowledge the strong and clear alignment between these policy ambitions and the need for further robust, solution-led work to reduce the occurrence of workplace injury in this sector.”
Further signatories are Matthew Hill, chief executive of the Chartered Insurance Institute; Alexander Nicoll, head of media and entertainment at underwriting specialists Active Media; Pippa Stone, head of media and entertainment at Markel International Insurance Company; Abbi Collins and Andra Milsome of the Mark Milsome Foundation; Kelly Valentine Hendry, owner of KVH Casting; and Donna French, Charlotte Knight, Fiona Williams and Kevin Brady, council co-chairs of the Personal Managers’ Association.
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