Two new funds for Scotland's screen sector

Two new funds have been launched to support Scotland’s screen sector.

A £2m Tax Credit Loan Fund will provide a loan facility to qualifying productions in Scotland to fund the use of UK film, animation and high-end TV Tax Credits earlier, while a £1m Screen Sector Skills Fund will provide training and skills development opportunities for people already involved in the sector and young people considering a career in screen.

Both funds ill be administered by Creative Scotland and will run over the financial year 2015/16, operational from April 2015. Skills Development Scotland will play an advisory role for the skills fund to ensure it is aligned to their Skills Investment Plan.

The £3m builds on the funding already provided by Creative Scotland of £9m a year to support the screen sector, while the Scottish public sector invests over £21m annually in support to the screen sector.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop [pictured] commented: “Scotland is already widely recognised for our world-class talent, crews, facilities and breath-taking locations, and the Scottish Government and its agencies are committed to working together to continue to create the conditions that enable our screen sector to flourish.

“The Scottish Government recognises and values the vision and the ambition of Scotland’s screen sector and we are determined to help it to thrive – and the funds will do this, addressing two pressing needs of the industry.” 

“We very much welcome this new funding support for production and skills development, helping to address some of the priorities as set out in our Film Strategy, published last year. We will continue to work closely with the sector and with our public agency partners to create the conditions for a sustainable and thriving screen industry in Scotland,” added Natalie Usher, director of film & media at Creative Scotland.