I want the House to agree, by virtue of this amendment, that we need to adopt a new approach to establish a fairer society. We have unprecedented funds at our disposal with an expected current surplus of £2,300 million. It is in that context that I want the contrast to be made with the moneys we are making available through the social welfare budget. This is not really a criticism of the Government. I am trying to get a united view of this House, of which the Government might take notice and which might be of support to whoever is Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs when the next budget negotiations take place, that we want future social welfare budgets to reflect the unprecedented wealth in the economy and, in particular, the Exchequer.
If we are in favour of a fairer society, we must be prepared to accept a different approach, one which is predicated on the enormous moneys now available for the achievement of that fairer society. We must aim for and work towards the achievement of that fairer society and one way is to use the device I propose in this amendment.