The New Lanark Trust has appointed Bill Howat as its chair. Bill retired in 2005 as chief executive of Western Isles Council and led the review of the Scottish Executive’s budgets. He served as adviser to the NI Office on Local Government Reform and has also advised the Scottish Parliament Local Government and Regeneration Committee several times. He was chair, then President, of Volunteer Scotland and also chaired Forth Sector until 2016.

Hearts & Minds, the arts in health charity and home to the Clowndoctors and Elderflowers, has appointed Suzie Ferguson as its new artistic director. She has been with Hearts & Minds since 2010 and has recently completed a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship, visiting healthcare clowning organisations in Spain, France, Portugal and South America. will take up her post as of 3 January 2018.

Friends at the End, a membership organisation campaigning to change the law to legally allow assisted dying in Scotland and the UK, has appointed its new convenor. Peter Warren is now part of the six strong council that work closely with the public and MSPs to bring about a change in the law regarding end of life choices. Friends at the End believe that medically assisted dying should be available to all mentally competent adults with either a terminal illness or an incurable condition causing hopelessness and unbearable suffering, with no reasonable alternative to relieve it, providing this is their own persistent request.

Homelessness and inclusion charity Cyrenians has appointed a manager for the Social Bite Village, which will provide a home for up to 20 people affected by homelessness and which is being built in Granton, Edinburgh. Kathy Hoyle joined Cyrenians as a volunteer in 2006 before moving into a job at Cyrenians Communities, supporting young people directly affected by homelessness. After this, she took on a role supporting people to maintain accommodation in the private rented sector as an alternative to homelessness, before spending four years working for Cyrenians Homeless Prevention Service and then joining Cyrenians Fareshare Depot as deputy manager in 2012.