CIVIL SERVANT Bill Barron has been appointed as Interim Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission.

Mr Barron, currently head of the Scottish Government’s Housing Support and Homelessness Unit, takes on the role following the departure of Catriona Maclean, and will now lead the organisation until a permanent appointment is made.

The Scottish Crofting Federation welcomed the appointment: “We were very concerned when Catriona MacLean left the Commission for another post in the Scottish Government,” said SCF chair Fiona Mandeville, “as with all the recent turmoil still unresolved, a delay in re-appointment could leave the organisation in a very vulnerable state. It is very heartening then to see swift action and an interim appointment.”