ANDREW D EDWARDS

RE: Reality facing the UK’s cultural freelance workforce post Brexit.

22nd February 2021

Dear Prime Minister & Lord Frost,

I am writing to you as a UK citizen and, more specifically, as one of the many self-employed workers in our
Arts & Culture industry. Having experienced first hand the impact of post Brexit employment in Europe, I
want to address the stark reality we now face.

The British Cultural Arts Sector is respected internationally. There is a considerable demand for our self-
employed workforce, for their ideas, skills and experience across the globe. It is a reputation we are all
extremely proud to have and one we strive to maintain while helping to grow and unleash the UK’s full
potential in the cultural market.

Together, we need to identify a short term solution for clarity and a long term permanent outcome which
does not prohibit the UK or it artists from working in Europe.

You state in your manifesto ‘ The Conservatives offer a future in which we get Brexit done, and then move
on to focus on our priorities – which are also your priorities. Because more important than any one
commitment in this manifesto is the spirit in which we make them. Our job is to serve you, the people.’

We are the people, we are a priority. The arts freelancer culture workforce is a hidden backbone of the
British economy, £7.7 billon contributed annually. However, our reputation is more than figures - the work
we do as artists is about the growth of a sector for all: educating and inspiring the next generation of artists.
Our industry employs hundreds of thousands of people, while maintaining this country’s reputation of artistic
excellence. The truth is freelancers are falling into unemployment. Our work and commitments can be
scheduled several years in advance and, with new restrictions, we are now in potential breach of contracts
with European employers. The arts sector is being decimated by the pandemic and the inability to work
freely in Europe is a deepening the issue.

As a designer for live events, eighty percent of my work is European based. On a recent work trip to Austria,
I experienced how Brexit is affecting the freelancer workforce trying to enter Europe. Even before leaving
the UK, I was instructed to fill out several different forms to enter each country, on top of obtaining a proof
of work letter from the company I was working for and from the Austrian Embassy. Whilst transiting
through The Netherlands, I was held by Dutch customs for questioning. This was a highly stressful and
intimidating experience, especially when my professional reputation and the validity of whether I should be
working was questioned. This resulted in missing my connection and being stranded at the airport for 48hrs -
at my own expense - and subsequently facing the reality of not being able to honour my contract in Austria.
Even with the correct paper work for my final destination, I was confronted with this new and very real
roadblock to my career and my ability to earn a living. This was, in fact, my first paid work after a year of
unemployment due to the world pandemic.
It was made clear it was not a Covid-19 related issue, as people with European passports on the same flight
passed through the security gates without further checks. Every day I hear of another freelancer experiencing
the same issues of confusion and delay at airports, border controls and Embassies.

We are all aware the Government is working to find clarity for its citizens as we transition to being Third
Party Nationals to Europe. However, this is extremely time sensitive for the hundreds of thousands of
already beleaguered self employed workers who are now finding it almost impossible to work in Europe.
This is a crisis that needs to be dealt with urgently.

The live event industry is made up predominately of self employed practitioners who do not have the
resources of large companies to rifle through the circular paper trail of misleading information which
currently exists. ‘Teething issues’ has been cited to other sectors. However, the reality is that this
Government has had a number of years to anticipate these issues - issues affecting its citizens today and
everyday until they are resolved.

We cannot wait 4 years for a solution to this crisis, we must get back to the table with Europe. We ask for:

- UK citizens to have a Government portal that provides clear information about the paper work and access
requirements for freelancers to travel and work within Europe.
- Discussion to immediately commence again around creating a clear and functional system providing visas
and work permits within Europe, allowing entry to Europe as a whole, not country by country.
- A Cultural Secretary dedicated to live arts events able to focus on the specific issues affecting our
industry.

Let us work together and find a solution now. You state repeatedly that ‘the door is now open for discussion
with Europe’. We urge you not to wait for Europe to come to us, but to demand every opportunity to move
these discussions forward at pace for your citizens.

We must enable those wanting to work, to pay for their homes and to feed their families not to face
unemployment. We have a responsibility to imagine the future beyond the pandemic. We must work
collectively to aid practitioners to continue to work in Europe to strengthen Britain’s reputation and, indeed,
our economy.

Your sincerely

Andrew D Edwards