Jacques Peretti explores how public bodies utilise their resources and asks whether taxpayers are getting value for money.

As Britain continues to spend less on the public sector, do we really know where our taxes are being spent?

Spending on schools, hospitals and foreign aid are well debated. In this one-off documentary, Jacques Peretti looks beyond the well-known budgets to the range of projects the public know less about, from the virtual receptionists at Brent Civic Centre to the night-vision goggles being used to spy on dog walkers in Staffordshire.

Peretti uncovers what is happening behind closed doors in cash-strapped Britain and finds that local councils across the UK are signing contracts with management consultancy firms who can take a percentage of any savings they find.

Peretti also reveals that hundreds of the millions of taxpayers' pounds spent on these contracts are covered by confidential deals meaning very little detail is known about them. In this revealing insight, Peretti asks if the public deserve to know more about how those charged with managing Britain's billions are spending it.