The entertainment industry has years of practice at surviving during tough times, perhaps because when life is hard people need entertainment more than ever.

But nobody doubts that 2014 is going to be a very tough year. Arts Council funding is under pressure, business sponsorship of the arts is down everywhere other than London, and local councils are under extreme financial pressure with some even cutting all arts investment.

So in this harsh climate what are my suggestions for New Year resolutions from the movers and shakers in Britain's arts world?

Government culture ministers say they understand the value of the arts in making Britain a better place to live. They say they understand that the arts is an economic generator and that every pound of taxpayers' money generates many more in economic activity. They say that they understand the importance of arts in the education of our children but then act as though none of that matters by making deep cuts in funding.

My suggestion is for the government to resolve to put their money where their mouth is and safeguard arts funding at national level.

Across the country, local authorities are feeling the pinch. The three big spending items - child social care, adult social care and waste management - are taking more and more of the budget while central government support is cut, drastically so in some places.

Reducing support for the arts might seem like an easy option but not only do the arts make our towns and cities great places to live but they generate business as well.

My suggestion for local councils is for them to resolve to keep the faith with the arts, back the My Theatre Matters! audience campaign and join Equity in calling for local spending on arts to become statutory.

Television is reclaiming its place as the outlet for some of the most exciting drama available and our national broadcaster, the BBC, is as always at the forefront. My suggestion is for the BBC and all other TV producers to resolve to continue the trend towards making programmes outside of the confines of the M25 but to make sure that they hire local talent when they do so.

Publicly funded theatres have faced significant cuts in investment in recent years and I pay tribute to their resourcefulness in continuing to make exciting new work. My suggestion for a theatre managers' new year's resolution is to resist the temptation to spend public funding on admin and to make sure that every possible penny goes towards supporting work on stage.

Can it really be the case that in the 21st century so much of our entertainment continues to reflect a world in which none of us live? It's a world where disability is invisible, minority ethnic citizens are shown in a partial and skewed light, some ethnic minorities - East Asian for example - are almost absent and women, half the population, get one third of the dramatic roles at best. I call on all entertainment employers to resolve to change their ways and start showing us life as it really is.

We are only strong if we stand together and defend what we have got. We are a great union and entertainment workers would be so much worse off without Equity. Here's a resolution for fellow Equity members - support your union, back the campaigns for better funding and social justice, get involved and pay your subs.

Now it's my turn. My New Year's resolution as president of Equity is never to forget that I am in this role for the betterment of working members on stages, in studios, on location, in clubs, in pubs, on catwalks and wherever else they work.

So I resolve to keep my focus outwards on to the members and make sure that this union is doing everything it can to support and protect them and that I speak out in their name in our campaigns to improve their working lives.

Details of the My Theatre Matters! campaign are available at www.mytheatrematters.com