The Government has approved a rise in the National Minimum Wage to £6.50 per hour later this year, with more than one million people set to see their pay rise by as much as £355 a year.

The rise will take effect in October, as Tessa’s boss and Business Secretary Vince Cable has accepted in full the independent Low Pay Commission’s recommendations for 2014, including plans for bigger increases in future than in recent years.

The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has said the rise, the first real terms cash increase since 2008, is manageable for employers and will support full employment.

The National Minimum Wage rates from 1 October 2014, as recommended by the LPC, will be:

Local MP Tessa Munt has welcomed the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) ‘Road to Reform’ report, published today, which considers how our regressive business rates system can be made fit for purpose.

The publication puts forward a range of ideas for the reform of the UK business rates system.

Commenting on proposals Tessa said:

“I have long argued that our system of business rates is unfair. Whilst we’ve modernised other taxes, business rates have been left behind and the system is woefully out of date and particularly harmful for our small and medium sized enterprises – the companies the nation has to thank for pulling our economy out the danger zone.

This was the very first concern I raised when I was appointed Vince Cable’s Parliamentary Private Secretary in 2012, and he agreed that a radical shake up was required.

I know he has pushed for discussions at Cabinet level and the launch of the Chancellor’s ‘Discussion Document’ has begun to stimulate a debate.

Last week, during Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister announced, amongst other measures, that small businesses affected by the floods would be granted a deferral on their rates.  This is really welcome in my patch.

I’m hopeful that the Chancellor will be persuaded to go much further and accept that a fundamental shake up is what is needed in order to remove the disincentive to invest in and improve property, promote growth in jobs and output and support our entrepreneurs, rather than simply tinkering with the existing system which is failing small and medium sized businesses.