Mclaren bids farewell to QMS
Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) chairman, Jim Mclaren, will be stepping down from the position later this year after completing the maximum two four-year terms – and the organisation is seeking applicants for a new face to head up the livestock sector body.
Four new board members are also being sought.
The appointments, which are made by Scottish ministers, will all be for four years’ duration. The organisation said that the new chair and one board member would take up their appointments on 1 September 2018, the other new board members taking up theirs’ on 1 April 2019.
For the work involved, the chair will receive £340 per day for a commitment of 104 days per year while members will receive£180 per day and will be expected to commit 20 days per year to their role. Links to the application process can be found on the QMS website and closing date for for anyone wishing to put their name forward is 16 April 2018
QMS is a public body, with its core funding provided through statutory levies on the sales of livestock with some grants available from government and its agencies, and other funding coming from the Scottish red meat industry on a voluntary basis.
The organisation is charged with leading and shaping a sustainable and prospering Scottish red meat industry and is responsible for the promotion and protection of three of Scotland’s most iconic food brands – Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork.
As well as Mclaren, others who have served their term are Aberdeenshire pig producer Philip Sleigh, Shetlander Ronnie Eunson, meat processor Alan Mcnaughton and sheep farmer John Scott.