Three-quarters of senior officers expect austerity to claim more victims in the coming year, while a third are pessimistic about balancing savings with protecting frontline services in years to come.

PwC's annual survey, The Local State We're In, surveyed 81 local authority chief executives, finance directors and elected council leaders and 2,001 members of the public. It found a surge in respondents expecting a council to fall into financial crisis this year, at 74% compared to 54% in 2017.