Things look set to get a little heated in the nation's prisons as the government attempts to get a quart out of a pint pot by loading up junior staff with more responsibility. See health and education for the template.

Talk of "efficiency drives" at a time when millions of pounds worth of public money is likely to be trousered by the very bankers who got us into the present economic mess is both hollow and infuriating. People will rightly ask if billions of pounds can be found for the banks, then why not a bit of cash for the prisons, already working on a shoestring budget? You can pretty much insert any public service into that sentence.

Summer of discontent anyone?