The new director of Oxfordshire's social Services department is having a baptism of fire.

The department is £3m overspent, is struggling to make £8.9m of cuts and is ranked poorly in the Government's performance tables.

Added to that, the department was plunged into the international spotlight in his first week when a Banbury couple were placed in nursing homes 20 miles apart.

Nora and Gordon Watts, who have been married for 61 years, were separated for three months.Gordon and Nora Watts, from Banbury

The situation was condemned as Dickensian by Banbury MP Tony Baldry and outrageous and cruel by Help the Aged.

Social services blamed the separation on a lack of cash for appropriate care, but moved swiftly to reunite the couple when the case was made public.

Charles Waddicor, 51, said the controversy was no less than he expected.

"Virtually all my career has been in social services," he said.

"It's always a high profile directorate, with problems aired in the media."

Predictably, tight control of the budget to curb the overspend -- now at £3m, down from £10m at the start of this financial year -- remains his priority.

The council aims to bring the budget under control by April.

Mr Waddicor is unruffled by the task and says he expects staff to work "smarter and harder" to make the necessary improvements without spending too much cash.

Oxfordshire's population of 632,000 is five times that of the Isle of Wight, where he worked previously.

Oxfordshire holds only a one star rating in the Department of Health's performance rankings -- sitting dangerously close to joining the 13 worst performing authorities with no stars.

The Government has also highlighted the department as one with "uncertain prospects" in terms of improving in the near future.

Mr Waddicor said: "I would like to reach two stars for Oxfordshire by 2004/5.

"The Government says it wants to increase the amount of money it gives to social services by six per cent in real terms next year. But in essence we shouldn't expect this improvement to be achieved on the back of extra finances."

Mary Robertson, the last social services director, resigned for personal reasons.

She had faced tough times, including death threats as the bulk of the budget cuts began last year.

Mr Waddicor says he is prepared for tough times and is confident his own style of leadership will bring results.