We start 2022 with no change in Plan B Covid measures, an announcement that Vault Festival is cancelled, and theatres across the UK being forced to shut their doors and postpone productions once again as a result of skyrocketing infection rates.

WGGB, alongside sister entertainment trade unions and other organisations across the sector, has been lobbying and campaigning for nearly two years now to secure proper support for the freelance workers who power our world-leading creative industries, which contribute over £111 billion to the UK economy and have been severely affected by the pandemic.

We know from speaking to our members that many writers have lost commissions and box office royalties due to the pandemic and the Government’s announcement just before Christmas of £1.5 million for arts freelancers in England is simply too small an amount to make a difference.

WGGB will continue to lobby and campaign and you can play your part too. Please write to your MP and urge them to contact Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to improve the support package for creative freelancers.

You can find out who your MP is here. If you do write to your MP, we’d love to know – please email lesley@writersguild.org.uk

In the meantime, if you are a playwright or theatre maker who is in financial hardship as a result of lost income, you can apply for a grant of up to £1,000 from The Theatre Artists Fund Supported by Netflix

You can find out further information on Covid and the creative industries, including WGGB’s lobbying and campaigning work in the past two years, and other sources of funding and support, on our special Covid page. This also includes details of the work of our elected committees in Scotland and Wales.

Photo: Shutterstock.com/Stoatphoto