Esther Roberton, a member of the Labour Party, is one of 10 members whose appointments were announced by the Secretary of State in advance of the first meeting of the new council last week.

The others are: David Batty, deputy managing director of Babcock Rosyth Defence and member of the board of management at Lauder College in Dunfermline; Bill Gold, senior administration manager with NEC Semiconductors and chairman of the board of management at West Lothian College; John Gray, retired finance director with Scottish Hydro Electric and member of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council’s audit committee; Joyce Johnston, principal of Fife College; Tom McCool, former chief executive of the Scottish Vocational Education Council and member of the SHEFC; Brian Minto, senior partner with chartered accountants Minto Finnie Parsons Turnbull, vice-chairman of the Scottish Qualifications Authority and member of the board at Dundee College; Fred Sheddon, senior partner at McGrigor Donald, specialising in corporate governance; Michael Thorne, depute principal of Napier University; Alan Tripp, senior vice-president of Sykes Europe and board member of the Scottish Further Education Unit.

Members will be paid pound;4,550 for an average commitment of two days a month.