Business secretary Vince Cable said the government accepted the recommendation of the Low Pay Commission.

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The latest setting for minimum wage levels mirrors recommendations from the Low Pay Commission.

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The Low Pay Commission has proved that this approach works and that people representing very different interests can co-operate and reach a consensus.

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Chairman of the Low Pay Commission Adair Turner said employment had continued to increase in most of those sectors most affected by the minimum wage.

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One noted by the Low Pay Commission in the UK (the body that actually sets the UK minimum wage) estimated 30, 000 jobs lost as a result.

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Firms may be reluctant to create jobs by recruiting inexperienced staff because they are put off by the increased wage bill, the Low Pay Commission has suggested.

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On that, Labour is silent: such details will be left to the post-election deliberations of a Low Pay Commission, to include representatives from business and the unions.

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The task is to make the minimum wage "part of the furniture" in the UK. The Low Pay Commission should consider when it would be right to recommend an uprating in the minimum wage to ensure that it retains its value.

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The campaign said that in the same way that the Low Pay Commission was set up in 1997 to advise on the minimum wage, a High Pay Commission was needed to introduce "a wide-ranging review" of pay at the top and bring in new measures to curb excessive remuneration.

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