Two new funds, together worth £3m, will aim to support production and skills development support for the Scottish film, animation and high-end TV industries, the country’s culture secretary Fiona Hyslop announced on Wednesday 3 February.

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, which will assist producers in completing the finance of their projects and move them towards production.

In addition to this, a £1m Screen Sector Skills Fund is to provide training and skills development opportunities for those already involved in the sector. The latter fund will also be used to motivate and support young people considering a career in the industry.

Screen organisation Creative Scotland will administer both funds, which will run from April 2015.

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.”