05/02/2015 - Two new funds to provide financial support for Scottish film, animation and television

New funds worth £3 million will provide a fillip to Scotland’s screen sector. A £2 million Tax Credit Loan Fund will provide a loan facility to qualifying productions in Scotland to assist producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them towards production in the film, animation and high-end television sectors. £1 million 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 will be administered by Creative Scotland and will run over the financial year 2015/16, operational from April 2015. The £3 million builds on the funding already provided by Creative Scotland of £9 million a year to support the screen sector. 

Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said,  “Film-making, animation and television production make an important contribution to Scotland’s rich and diverse cultural life, with public sector investment in support of the screen sector, across development, production, education, training and exhibition, increasing to over £21 million in 2013-14.”

Natalie Usher, Director of Film and Media at Creative Scotland said, “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.”