Public services need more investment across the board(全面地；整体上). Every day, another wretched(悲惨的；糟糕的) story. Look at the Institute for Government’s (IFG) Public Services Performance Tracker for a plain assessment of A&E corridor care, councils struggling to meet the demands of social care and the Send system, the courts backlog, GP caseloads or families lost in temporary accommodation.(看看政府研究所的公共服务绩效追踪报告，就能对急诊走廊护理、地方议会难以满足社会护理和特殊教育需求、法院积压案件、全科医生工作量以及家庭困于临时住所等问题有一个平实的评估。) A chancellor approaching a budget is besieged(被包围；受困扰) by need. It’s easy for us journalists to pick out shock stories and claim each one is an absolute priority, but how should a chancellor choose?
公共服务在各方面都需要更多投资。每天都有新的悲惨故事。看看政府研究所（IFG）的公共服务绩效追踪报告，就能对急诊走廊护理、地方议会在社会护理和特殊教育需求（Send）体系上捉襟见肘、法院积压案件、全科医生工作量以及家庭困于临时住所等问题有一个平实的评估。即将编制预算的财政大臣被各种需求包围。我们记者很容易挑出令人震惊的故事，声称每一个都是绝对优先事项，但财政大臣该如何选择呢？
Today it’s the probation officer(缓刑监督官)s, whose conference in Newcastle is launching a ballot for industrial action(就是否采取罢工行动进行投票). Their caseloads overflow(溢出；不堪重负)ed long ago, but now thousands of prisoners released early – 2,000 this month – have been thrust upon(强加于；硬塞给) them. The responsibility is overwhelming, with officers blamed for crimes their clients commit.(责任之重令人窒息，而一旦当事人犯罪，官员们还要背锅。)
今天轮到了缓刑监督官——他们在纽卡斯尔的会议正在发起一场关于罢工行动的投票。他们的案件量早已不堪重负，而现在成千上万提前获释的囚犯——本月就有2000人——被硬塞给他们。责任之重令人窒息，而一旦当事人犯罪，官员们还要背锅。
The probation story is told in scores of reports: the National Audit Office found the service running on half the staff needed to cover released prisoners. It also reported failures in electronic tagging(电子脚镣监控), echo(呼应；附和)ed by the IFG reporting only 55% of tags were fitted in time. Napo, the probation officers’ union, blames the problems on awarding contracts to the lowest bidders at prices that mean the job isn’t done properly.(缓刑监督官工会Napo将问题归咎于把合同授予最低投标者，而这样的价格意味着工作无法妥善完成。)
几十份报告都讲述了缓刑服务的困境：国家审计署发现，该服务的人手只有覆盖获释囚犯所需的一半。它还报告了电子脚镣的故障，政府研究所也呼应说只有55%的脚镣按时安装。缓刑监督官工会Napo将问题归咎于把合同授予最低投标者，而这样的价格意味着工作无法妥善完成。