I HAVE always been a supporter of the Welfare State, and so I welcome Gordon Brown's announcement of a large cash injection for schools, hospitals and other services.

The Welfare State has been the only reason for the improvement in standards of living for the vast majority of people in this country. It has given everybody access to basic services, and it has provided people with opportunities that they would never otherwise have had.

But there has always been a problem with the Welfare State. It hasn't been able to improve the lot of those who are genuinely poor or those who are on very low incomes.

The Welfare State has always benefited the middle classes more than those lower down the social scale. There are many reasons for this. One reason is that a great deal of the money spent by the state goes on professional salaries. In this way, it is professional people who benefit most from state spending.

This is one reason for the North/South divide. If you ask how much Government money is spent per head of the population in the South, it is higher than in the North. No wonder the South is richer!

This is why we can only give a cautious welcome to Gordon Brown's spending plans.

If this new money is all given to professionals, then the plight of the least well off will get worse rather than better.

For example, one suggestion made for schools is that very successful headteachers might be rewarded with extra bonuses if they take on failing schools. No doubt this is a good plan. It would provide an incentive to attract exceptional people to work in difficult situations.

But the overall effect of such a management approach would be that the low paid workers in such schools would never see the benefit of the extra millions. Only the professional people would get rewards, not the cleaners, the dinner supervisors, or the classroom assistants.

What we need in this country is not a further boost to the income of already reasonably well off people. Instead it must be a top priority to raise the level of income and services to those on the lowest rung of the ladder.

We must find ways of making the Welfare State benefit the poorest people most.

Michael Williams, Vicar of Bolton Parish Church