Council finance chiefs are increasingly anxious about their ability to balance local authority budgets in the medium term, according to a new survey which reinforces findings from exclusive research published recently by The MJ.

According to a poll of 134 council finance officers (CFOs) conducted by the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), one-quarter of those surveyed felt much less confident about their finances for 2013/14, and 41% felt slightly less confident.