DUNFERMLINE SOUTH councillor Fay Sinclair has stepped down from her role as convener of Fife Council's education and children's services committee.

She will be replaced by SNP Glenrothes West and Kinglassie councillor Craig Walker.

The change was approved at Fife Council's meeting on Thursday.

On a post on her Facebook page, Cllr Sinclair said the decision had been made for health reasons.

"Like many people, the pandemic and in particular the lockdown period, gave me an opportunity to evaluate what is important and I realised that health and family need more of my focus right now," she said.

"I have been tremendously grateful for the trust people placed in me to champion education in Fife as education spokesperson for the past three years and have not taken that responsibility lightly. It has been a challenging role but I hope that I've played a small part in Fife's educational improvement journey.

"My work in Fife is not done – I will continue to serve as councillor for the Dunfermline South ward."

Her successor, Cllr Walker, paid tribute to Cllr Sinclair.

"Fay has been an outstanding convener for the past three-and-a-half years and I want to thank her for her dedication and hard work," he said.

"Nothing is more important than the education and futures of our children and I'm looking forward to working with the excellent education officials at Fife Council to make sure all our pupils have the best possible journey through schooling."

Last month, Cllr Sinclair was shortlisted for the Champion of Education title in the 2020 National Councillor Awards. The ceremony will take place on Tuesday.