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Two new funds to support production and skills development.

Two new funds will provide financial support for Scottish film, animation and high-end TV productions and support skills development in the screen sector, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop announced yesterday.

A £2 million Tax Credit Loan Fund will provide a loan facility to qualifying productions in Scotland to fund the use UK film, animation and high-end TV Tax Credits earlier, which will assist producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them towards production.

A £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. Skills Development Scotland will play an advisory role for the skills fund to ensure that it is aligned to their Skills Investment Plan for the creative industries due to be published in Spring 2015.

The Tax Credit Loan Fund was one area of support discussed between Ministers and industry representatives including Independent Producers Scotland, and the fund is a pilot following from these discussions.

Yesterday’s £3 million builds on the funding already provided by Creative Scotland of £9 million a year to support the screen sector. The Scottish public sector invests over £21 million annually in support to the screen sector for training, development, production, business support, education and festivals.

These new funds directly address some of the key priorities for the next 12 months set out in Creative Scotland’s recently published Film Strategy.

Ms Hyslop said yesterday:

“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 funds I am announcing today will assist producers in financing their projects, at the same time as investing directly in our workforce to build on its strengths and address the gaps identified by the sector.

“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 I am announcing today will do this, addressing two pressing needs of the industry.

“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.

“The Scottish Government has consistently championed Scotland as a location for international film and TV productions, with notable successes such as Outlander, now filming in a 140,000 square foot studio established in Cumbernauld.

“We fully understand that Scotland needs greater studio resources for film and high end TV production, and the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise are continuing to work together with the sector to make this happen.

“The funds I am announcing today will help the industry move from strength to strength.”

David Smith, Director of Technology, Engineering and Creative Industries for Scottish Enterprise said:

“I welcome news of these two funds. The talent and skills of the people working in the creative industries is second to none but they need to be supported and nurtured now and in the coming years and these funds will help keep Scotland at the leading edge of the world’s creative industries.”

Natalie Usher, Director of Film & 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."

Notes To Editors

Financial Transactions

During meetings with Independent Producers Scotland in February and August 2014, ‘Financial Transactions’ were flagged as a possible avenue of content funding support.

Financial Transactions are a form of funding provided by HM Treasury for investment purposes. They are essentially loans to organisations outside the public sector. The case has been approved for £2m of Financial Transactions to fund the UK Tax Credit for films over 2015-2016.

Financial Transactions allocated for culture projects are found on page 108 of the Draft Budget 2015-16

Screen Industries Skills Fund

It has been agreed that over 2015-2016 the Scottish Government will make £1m available to Creative Scotland to be focused on skills development in the screen sector. The fund has been developed in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and will be managed by Creative Scotland. Skills Development Scotland will have an advisory role on applications received, assessed and approved. Full guidelines and an invitation for applications will be published in time to launch at the beginning of April 2015.

The fund will cover 4 strands:

• advanced career development building entrepreneurship and leadership skills;
• business development and management seminar and workshop programmes;
• tailored skills development including traineeships and apprenticeships; and
• access routes into the industry to increase workforce diversity and improve industry-readiness and emerging talent development focusing on employability.