SOUTHAMPTON City Council bosses have defended their decision to offer salaries of £110,000 for two top management posts.

The council is on the hunt for a resources executive director and a children's service executive director - both offering six-figure salaries.

It marks the start of a top-level shake-up that should save £250,000 a year from 2007 onwards.

Two posts are being rolled into one, and all departments dealing with children are now coming under one department in a government move to stop children slipping through the gap between social services and education chiefs.

Six months ago, council chief executive Brad Roynon came under fire when bosses refused to reveal how big a pay rise he had received. A new pay scale meant he could be earning up to £145,880 a year.

Yesterday he defended the big salaries on offer for these posts and said he was creating a council for the future.

He said: "There are big changes facing the city council, brought in mainly from the outside. We are under massive pressure and we have to reshape to meet the needs of the future.

"The salaries we are offering are in line with other authorities. Other posts advertised at the moment include a director of children's services in Hull for £112,000, in Oldham for £110,000 and in Cornwall for £101,000.

"These top salaries of the council are compared against the marketplace every couple of years."

The head of children's services is a new must-have post. It comes in the wake of the Victoria Climbie case and is designed to improve accountability and consistency in the care of children.

One person, the children's services executive director, will now be responsible for all youngsters in the care of the authority. He or she will become the education boss, as well as dealing with social services for children.

Southampton's existing director of education and leisure post is being axed, with the control of leisure eventually moving to a leisure trust, to be set up later this year.

The resources executive director position is being created from two existing posts. The existing head of finance is retiring, as is the current corporate development boss. Both their positions are being amalgamated into the resources super-job, with responsibility for IT, property, care procurement and meeting budgets.

Mr Roynan said: "It is going to lead to a net reduction of one post. They all have PA support, and I anticipate there will be further economies down the scale.

"It's good that we are saving money, but this is about the changes facing the council."

RE-STRUCTURING TIMELINE:

March 2005: new children's services and finance directors are appointed

July 2005: new directors start work and the communications department is transferred to the chief executive's department

August 2005: a leisure trust is established and the current position of director of leisure and education is axed

October 2005: new directors complete their draft business plans

2006/07: savings of £175,000 are likely to be made under the arrangement

2007/08: savings of £250,000 per year should be in place.