Former banker Benny Higgins will take up the unpaid, part time role at Sistema Scotland next month

A charity which helps children from disadvantaged backgrounds learn a musical instrument has a new chairman.

Former banker Benny Higgins will take up the unpaid, part time role at Sistema Scotland next month.

The charity runs the Big Noise programme, which reaches more than 2,500 children in Stirling, Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen.

He succeeds Richard Holloway, who Richard Holloway set up Sistema in 2008.

Higgins has held senior executive roles in the banking sector, including with Standard Life, RBS and HBOS.

He became chief executive of Tesco Bank in 2008, and after retiring earlier this year, was appointed by the Scottish government as strategic adviser for the establishment of the Scottish National Investment Bank.

Higgins said: "I am convinced from my own experience, growing up in both Govanhill, a community where Big Noise now works, and nearby Toryglen, of the transformative power of the arts and music, and the vital importance of ensuring they are inclusive and open to all.

"That is why I am excited to be appointed chairman of Sistema Scotland.

"The charity has achieved a huge amount in its first 10 years and there is compelling independent evidence of the benefits accruing to the children and young people taking part."