Open letter calls for more safety measures in film and TV

Senior leaders from across the entertainment and insurance sectors including Bectu and The Mark Milsome Foundation have published an open letter to the Secretaries of State for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Work and Pensions, calling for “decisive government engagement to tackle the critical issues identified in the IPC Impact of Injury ’24 Report.”

The report found that 79% of respondents to the IOI24 said they have been injured at work. Performers citing they had been injured at work was 76% in film and TV and 85% in theatre. 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 only 1% of performers said physical demand of roles is always transparently expressed in casting breakdowns.

An Open Letter to the Department for Culture Media and Sport & the Department for Work and Pensions

Dear Secretaries of State,

We the undersigned are writing to bring to your attention the high rates of workplace injury in the UK’s film, television and theatrical industries. This matter was highlighted last year, when the IPC’s Impact of Injury (IOI24) report unveiled difficult yet urgent truths about the realities of working in production. In the wake of its publication, the findings sparked an industry wide conversation about areas of production safety that have been historically overlooked, and presented employers with a powerful case to ameliorate this state of play.

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.

We recognise that we are part of the systems we are asking to improve. The sectoral consultations and roundtables held in the wake of the IOI24 publication point to a solution which lies in improved education and enforced regulation in this space. As a broad coalition of industry stakeholders, we are committed to developing a framework that will encompass both, in so doing promoting the safety of cast and crew at work. In order to actualise the degree of systemic change we want to see, we ask for the direct engagement of the addressed government departments to support the development and delivery of this framework. In view of this, we would welcome your commitment to meet with the signatories of this letter at our next meeting in October 2026.

In the Creative Industries Sector Plan in the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, the Culture Secretary’s Ministerial foreword states: “By 2035, the UK will be recognised as 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.

It is incumbent upon all stakeholders to recognise that the safety and welfare of our workforce is fundamental to safeguarding the world class product that the British stage and screen sectors offer. We have called upon our industry to meet this moment and demonstrate a united front in calling for action to improve the safety of working conditions. We now call on this government to support us in making this action a reality.

Signed,

Tome Levi

Director IPC

Alexander Nicoll

Head of Media & Entertainment – Active Media Active Underwriting Specialists Ltd

Abbi Collins

Chair – Mark Milsome Foundation

Donna French

Council Co-chair – Personal Managers’ Association

Kevin Brady

Council Co-chair – Personal Managers’ Association

Matthew Hill