ONE of Southampton City Council's most senior and long- serving officers has lost his job as part of a radical shake-up of services.

The council's executive director of lifelong learning and leisure Ian Sandbrook will leave the council within the next three months following the decision to merge the city's education and social services departments to form a new directorate of children's services.

The city's current director of social services, Dr John Beer, will stay on at the council while the department is reorganised.

It is possible he will head-up a newly created adult services department when the merger is complete in April next year.

The Daily Echo understands that both men were interviewed for the £110,000-a-year post of director of children's services but were unsuccessful.

Instead, city chiefs decided to appoint former Southampton teacher Clive Webster, 42, to head up the newly-created department.

Mr Sandbrook joined the City Council from Hampshire County Council nine years ago. He had formally been a schools inspector, head teacher and teacher in London.

He was appointed to his current post of director of lifelong learning and leisure services in December 2001.

In a statement, Mr Sandbrook said: "My post has been incorporated into the new director of children's services post and I shall be leaving Southampton City Council for pastures new."

Dr Beer added: "I always knew at that point in April next year I would relinquish the role for children's care.

"There will probably be a post of head of adult social services and I expect to have some other city council responsibilities but that is still a matter of discussion."

The shake-up comes on the back of the government's "Every Child Matters" initiative which forced local authorities to examine how they looked after the health, welfare and education needs of children and is a key requirement of the 2004 Children Act.