For local government, the Institute for Government's (IfG) latest broadside this week about Whitehall will come as no surprise. In a nutshell, the IfG says the way the Treasury manages public spending is inefficient with too little regard to what effect taxpayers' largesse is happening on the ground. Despite almost a decade of austerity, public money is still being wasted and much of this is due to the Government.

The IfG study, The Treasury's Responsibility for the Results of Public Spending, in particular focuses on four areas which concern local government, namely poor accountability, Whitehall silos, lack of certainty over spending settlements and a focus on departments rather than outcomes on the ground.