UK film body the Film Council has appointed Helen Bagnall to head its $1.5m (£1m) a year Film Training Fund, the Council announced today.

Bagnall, previously training officer at UK producers' body PACT, will initially focus on supporting the areas of script skills and producer and business executive training. Her first task will be to lead a working party on training policy for scriptwriters, which will advise the Council on investing in a raft of initiatives from early next year.

Bagnall, who takes up her position from July 24, is to work closely with training organisation Skillset and the Council's other fund managers.

The Council, which is to go live in October, is currently appointing managers to oversee the New Cinema Fund, which will support cutting edge films; the Premiere Production Fund, for commercially-oriented films; and Development. The body, headed by chief executive John Woodward and chairman Alan Parker, oversees UK public support for the film sector including National Lottery funding.