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Committee publication · Correspondence · 11 March 2026 · HC 573

Correspondence with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport re, Misogyny in music follow up, dated February 2026

From: Women and Equalities Committee

Summary

The Women and Equalities Committee writes to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA), which tackles discrimination and abuse in creative industries. The committee expresses concern that CIISA lacks statutory whistleblowing protections, sustainable funding, and adequate legislative protections for freelancers, and calls for government action on three specific fronts.

Key findings

  • Women in music face appalling harassment levels exacerbated by power imbalances; discrimination costs the creative industries an estimated £1.8 billion annually, affecting a third of the workforce
  • CIISA lacks Public Interest Disclosure protection status despite two years of government consideration; 36 other industry-backed standards authorities have statutory income protections that CIISA does not
  • CIISA operates on inadequate funding from a £65,000 starting base despite the sector being worth £124 billion to the UK economy, forcing resources toward fundraising rather than core work
  • Freelancers, who comprise the vast majority of creative industries workers, lack statutory protections from third-party harassment and are not covered by current non-disclosure agreement bans

Tone

Critical

Topics

safeguardingemployment-rightsgender-equalitycreative-industrieswhistleblowing

Key actors

Sarah Owen MP, Lisa Nandy MP, Jen Smith, Caroline Dinenage, Jess Phillips, Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA)

Notable line

“CIISA is being asked to undertake its duties with one arm tied behind its back.”

Key Quotes

“CIISA is being asked to undertake its duties with one arm tied behind its back.”
— Sarah Owen MP · expressing concern about CIISA's operational constraints
“… all of them have some form of protection on income, such as a levy or a reserve power. CIISA does not.”
— Jen Smith · comparing CIISA's funding model to other industry-backed standards authorities
“… it would be fly in the face of that mission to let it fail.”
— Sarah Owen MP · arguing that CIISA's work aligns with government's mission to halve violence against women and girls
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗