With regard to the article in The Sunday Herald of 5 May 2002, when the first "berry tsar" will be appointed, what input it will have into …

The Scottish Executive has recently agreed to fund the Berry Scotland Project for two years to cover the appointment of a Scientific Co-ordinator. The post will be filled by open competition and has been advertised. Scottish Executive officials participated in drawing up the job description and person specification and, at the invitation of the Berry Team, a representative from the Scottish Executive will sit on the interview panel. The duties of the post-holder will be to:conduct a consultation exercise to review current research and research capacity in relation to berries and key aspects of the food chain (e.g. production, processing, consumption, health) in the UK and review the place of berry production and manufacture in the economy;
identify research (and development) capacity within Scotland and help to facilitate funded opportunities for research collaborations with academic and industrial partners;
facilitate applications for competitive funding schemes, and
seek to secure further funding support for Berry Scotland.