Management of frontline services in local government has changed dramatically over the last decade in terms of scope, complexity and span of control. Has this been recognised in organisational status by professional institutes or training providers?

The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) recently completed a review of the skills required for 21st century parks management for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) Parks Action Group. What became obvious almost immediately was that austerity has reshaped the competency framework requirements for such roles at a rapid rate. Traditional parks management skills requirements could have been identified on one flower with seven petals with each petal representing a skill. Fast-forward a decade and they now require five flowers with the same array of petals.