Existing DCS Paul Curran retires at the end of March. He will bereplaced by Eleanor Schooling, who will be on secondment from CambridgeEducation, which runs Islington's education services.
The council denied that the move will blur the boundaries betweencommissioner and provider of services.
A spokesman said: "The strategic direction of children's services willremain with the council. Through the appropriate checks and balances,the new DCS will be fully accountable to the council chief executivethroughout the secondment."
But councillor Richard Watts, Labour's shadow education spokesman atIslington Council, said: "We're still concerned about a potentialconflict of interest. Someone who is an employee of a council contractorwill be running the department that hands out that contract. We havebeen told safeguards have been put in place, but we want to see how thatworks in practice before we have confidence that it is a viablesystem."
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