The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA) has launched an industry consultation.
The consultation will cover the minimum standards of behaviour expected across the UK’s creative industries to enable safe and inclusive working environments. This includes preventing and tackling all forms of bullying and harassment, including bullying and harassment of a discriminatory nature.
The CIISA standards will provide a framework for professional standards of behaviour within the creative industries.
Niyi Akeju, CIISA’s head of standards development, said: “We are delighted to be launching our industry consultation of the CIISA Standards today. We invite our industry colleagues to review this carefully considered piece of work which we’ve compiled this year through detailed and extensive collaboration with key bodies in the film, television, theatre and music sectors, including our wonderfully supportive Standards Advisory Committee. Our consultation period runs until 10am on Monday, January 27, 2025 with the final Standards launched and published in February 2025. We’ll be hosting sector-specific webinars in early December where we’ll go through the Standards and answer questions.”
Baroness Helena Kennedy, chair, CIISA, said: “We are extremely proud to share the CIISA Standards with colleagues across the creative industries and to get their input. It is important that Standards are endorsed, so marking a significant moment in the foundation of CIISA's operational activity".
Creative Industries Minister Sir Chris Bryant said: “Everyone in our creative industries deserves to feel safe and supported in the workplace and be treated with respect and dignity. That is why CIISA’s standards of behaviour will be so important.
“I am delighted that CIISA already has strong backing from industry, and I welcome this open consultation which will help to put a robust set of measures in place to tackle bullying, harassment and discrimination and ensure our creative industries remain one of the best sectors in the world to work in.”
Following the outcome of the consultation, CIISA will use the Standards to benchmark how the creative industries are embedding safe and inclusive working environments against these expectations and will identify and produce industry-specific guidance based on them.
This guidance will outline advice, support and good practice on how individuals, organisations, productions and projects can meet the expectations set by the Standards in practice.
CIISA will look to introduce services aimed at resolving concerns where possible.
