Scotland’s new £1.75m Production Growth Fund announced in September is officially open for applications from today, 29 October.

The intention is to lure film and TV drama producers to use Scotland as their production base, with a pot of money drawn partly from the Scottish government and partly from Creative Scotland.

It is hoped that long term, the fund will boost screen production and skillset development, as part of a set of wider measures introduced to grow the screen sector as a whole.

The Production Growth Fund (PGF) is one of many incentives currently in development as part of a long term film strategy, including a possible usage of European Structural Funds managed by the European Union and the potential establishment of a designated studio with a private sector proposal currently at an advanced stage of consideration by Scottish Enterprise.

Scotland remains the only UK nation without a purpose-built studio facility, a situation which has provoked outcry from industry leaders for some years.

Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, said: “The Scottish government and its agencies are firmly committed to supporting screen sector growth.

“We are working very hard to make this happen – as underlined by the significant increase in public funding allocated to support the screen industry over the last seven years. Despite tough budgets, public funding for screen increased to £24.1m in 2014, a rise of almost £8m compared with 2007.

“Building on this, we have further strengthened our support for the sector in 2015 with the introduction of a new £1m Screen Skills Fund, a £2m Tax Credit Advance Facility and the £1.75m Production Growth Fund, for which applications open today. We are also working incredibly hard to develop enhanced studio facilities for Scotland.

“We know Scotland’s screen sector has the talent and skills to deliver world-class films and attract major productions. But we recognise we need to do more to support the sector if we are to deliver on our high ambitions. Working with our partners we are committed to doing exactly that.”