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Big Society Agenda

That is exactly my point—I do not know. We cannot disagree with the argument that people making decisions for themselves, working together and volunteering are good things. It is not possible to disagree with the argument that we should all try to help each other and be neighbourly, but as public policy makers we have to turn idealistic rhetorical gesture into reality, otherwise all we will do is generate cynicism and a sense that we are out of touch and do not know what we are talking about. People will ask, ““Do you not understand what it’s like around us?”” The best way to approach the big society is to say that we will support the voluntary and community sector in a way that will allow it to expand, develop and grow. Why reinvent the wheel? That is as true in Northern Ireland as it is anywhere else. The Minister’s starting point seems to be that the state is too big and too powerful. I think that the state has a role to enable society to improve, and to try to ensure greater equality of opportunity, social justice and fairness. The Minister needs to explain his view of the state. I will try to finish before 6 pm. As I have said, the big society is difficult to define, but in a sense it is about people helping themselves, looking out for each other and volunteering. Northern Ireland has a proud record in that regard and, in many ways, it is an example to the rest of the United Kingdom. We should learn from its example.