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We explain why the Spring Statement is important to creatives and what our fellow professionals would like to see in it.
When is a budget, not a budget? When it’s a Spring Statement. Let us explain.
The Spring Statement is one of two economic statements the UK Chancellor must make to Parliament each year, based on forecasts from the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR).
While recent years have typically seen a Budget in both spring and autumn, the current Labour government has committed to having just one full Budget per year in late autumn, plus a more limited Spring Fiscal Statement. As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves will deliver this Statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday 26 March.
The Spring Statement typically addresses the state of the economy, presents the latest OBR forecasts, and may outline fiscal plans. However, it doesn’t announce major tax changes. The government argues this provides stability and simplicity for businesses, as they only have to adjust for new taxation rules once a year.
Despite this limitation, the Spring Statement is still a very big deal for the economy, and that means it’s a very big deal for people’s lives. Not least creatives, who’ll be watching closely, wondering how the financial changes might impact their already precarious profession.
Why it matters to the creative sector
For the creative industries, which contribute significantly to the UK economy, the Spring Statement comes at a crucial moment. The sector is facing multiple pressures: rising costs, economic uncertainty, and the lingering effects of recent global disruptions. So, for many, it will be a litmus test of the government’s commitment to supporting creative enterprise at a time when cultural output remains vital to the UK’s international standing and domestic well-being.
We spoke to members of the Creative Boom community to find out the issues that are most important to them right now and where they’d like to see more help from the government.
Financial insecurity and payment issues
We’ll start with the obvious. For freelancers like Laura Nevill, financial insecurity remains a persistent challenge in the current climate. “Work can be sporadic, and invoices can take months to get paid,” she notes. “Yet there’s very little support for those who are self-employed if they’re going through a rough patch. Universal Credit allows you a year’s start-up period if you prove you are gainfully self-employed, which is an amazing scheme. However, beyond that, or if you have a great first six months, then the work drops, there isn’t the support available.”
You might think that’d be an argument for getting a salaried role. “But the job market in general is terrible at the moment,” says Laura, “so even switching back into full or part-time work seems impossible. I have been job-hunting for months, for both creative roles and other work to just tide me over, and I have had zero luck. So, I’m stuck in limbo, where I am running out of options.
“There are some great grant schemes out there,” she adds. “But they are often focused on the growth of your business or a particular product or project development. It’s hard to find support that will allow you the time and space as a creative to explore your vision, make mistakes, and play, which is what we all need to create the best ideas and work.”
The lack of safety nets emerges as a critical issue whenever you talk to self-employed creatives. “I really think we need something in place for help when we get sick or are injured,” says brand and marketing designer Liv Lucie. “I feel like I can’t allow my body to get sick and let it recover in peace. Critical illness and income protection only cover so much if you can get them. For example, I cannot work right now due to major health stuff last year, which is so frustrating.”
So what would government help look like? Ideally, says illustrator Tasha Goddard, Universal Basic Income. “Obviously, that’s not about to happen,” she concedes, “but it would be a game-changer for creatives. Otherwise, some kind of government-run or mandated/regulated self-employed insurance that would allow us to actually take maternity leave, sick leave and still eat, and keep a roof over our heads.”
Tasha adds a list of other changes that would make life better for creative freelancers right now. “Better protection for non-payment of invoices. Mandating paying invoices on receipt and approval and not after 45-90 days after. Not bringing in the AI opt-out clause. A windfall payment from tech companies to all people whose work has been scraped for AI models. Funding for arts projects and arts education. A higher PLR ceiling. Government funding for street art and other creative and artistic endeavours will make our country look good to tourists, as well as to the ordinary people who live here. I could probably keep going for a while…”
Market conditions and client spending
Aside from the specific pressures affecting creative freelancers, the current economic climate has created a challenging business environment in general. As copywriter and marketer Denise Strohsahl observes, “A lot of small businesses are cutting back, due to higher energy costs and the upcoming increase in NIC for employers. For service providers like myself, that means there’s less work while the market is flooded with newly self-employed creatives who have been let go and struggle to find employment.”
In order to improve things, she believes, the government needs to offer more than Small Business Rate Relief. “For example, there are no energy price caps for businesses, and the employment allowance that was supposed to offset the higher NIC payments for small businesses is simply not enough,” she argues. “Almost all—99.2%—of the UK’s private sector is made up of small businesses. We need a budget that reflects that and encourages them to create jobs and invest in their businesses, not make it harder for them to stay open.”
After all, market saturation, combined with cautious client spending, is creating a difficult landscape for established professionals and newcomers alike. Brand and packaging designer Mike Williams puts it starkly: “I’ve been dry for months now as a freelancer,” he says. “It’s a crisis point for me this week. All savings are gone, and a few interviews I managed to get for permanent positions were not successful ones.”
Increased costs and operating expenses
At the same time that work is ebbing away, rising costs are affecting both creative businesses and their clients. As Matthew Jackson observes, “Clients are understandably incredibly risk-averse at the moment because no one knows what the fuck is happening right now. That includes their customers.
“What I, they, and I think the country needs is a vision and a strategy that makes sense to us, so we can all get behind it and start pushing,” he adds. “So, in short, more cash in our clients’ pockets, but more than that, just someone to show us they’ve got a plan that we can all believe in.”
As you might expect, there’s a strong consensus among the people we talked to around the need for increased arts funding, both for individual projects and education. As photo retoucher and creative artworker Sandrine Bascouert says: “Funding for the creative industries, including but not restricted to the arts, is really dire. For example, very few events are running like they used to, and more crucially, fewer and fewer of those events are at a price point that is accessible to families on lower income. Teaching creative industries in state schools and colleges is at its lowest point; how are we supposed to train the next generation?”
When it comes to direct help for businesses, you’d obviously expect creatives to be in favour of it. But it’s not always about self-interest; it’s often about genuine need. Take graphic designer and coach Vicki Lovegrove, who says: “I’ve been extremely careful since lockdown. I’ve managed to build up my financial reserve again to pre-pandemic levels. However, I need to buy a new kit soon! I’m applying for grants for that. It would be good if there were more grants for our creative businesses. The ones that are out there don’t really fit.”
Conclusion
As the Spring Statement approaches, creative professionals are clear: they need policies that recognise their unique challenges while fostering growth and stability more generally. Whether through improved payment protections, targeted tax measures, increased funding for the arts, or more accessible grants, creatives are calling for meaningful action rather than mere gestures.
In a time of economic uncertainty, the Spring Statement represents an opportunity for the government to demonstrate its commitment to a sector that enriches our society while facing distinctive financial pressures. Creative professionals will be watching closely to see if Rachel Reeves delivers.
In the meantime, resilience is the order of the day. Graphic designer Luke Tonge quotes the Greek Stoic philosopher Epictetus, who said: “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” Yet Luke also adds pragmatically, “Remember to put up your rates, folks, because everything else in the world sure keeps getting more and more expensive!”
