Sergio Burns 1) Yes I do support the living wage.

For me it starts with the growing gap between rich and poor and the inequalities that follow in its wake. Inequality of wealth is reflected in inequality of education, health and life opportunities. It is my passionate belief that we in the UK miss out on so much talent because of entrenched inequalities and, dare I say it, perceptions and prejudiced views that revolve around post codes rather than any real terms, which are perpetuated generation to generation either way. I have researched and written about the huge somes of money paid to financial CEO's and to balance this looked at why these people might get paid circa 25 million per annum - actually there was no real reason why these people were being paid this, no performance related link, and certainly no superior intelligence related link (over 700 times the average wage they don't work 700 times harder nor are they 700 times more intelligence - if they were we wouldn't be in the financial mess we are! The living wage, for me, is only a start but a very important one. We also need to incentivise workers, allow talent to be found and developed and the living wage will help encourage worker productivity and can only be a good thing for business. I very much believe that all things are connected. 2) I don't, I believe that civilised progress means having a balanced system of meritocracy and that no individual suffers through massive wealth differentials. That is not to say that we are all equal, only that the civilised way forward is to live and work in a society where equality of opportunity is the starting position - how we get there is the difficult part! I also think that if the private sector gains through its relationship with the public - and the two are inextricably linked anyway - then they should be be prepared to reward staff appropriately. It is quite simply progress. 3) Advantages of the living wage for individuals will be to help them escape poverty, and this, I believe, will also help with crime rates and will assist in lowering mental and physical illness. It will also help lift those kids whose mums and dads are in work and poverty out of struggle. For employers, a living wage will help them engage employees and will help produce willing workers less likely to 'not care' about their jobs - this, of course, has to be tempered with reasonable working conditions and reasonable treatment of employees. Worker's rights need to be strengthened but this is another issue. 4) I think the major ones as for example high profile organisations like NHS, Jobcentre Pluse, Police, Fire and educational institutions. These groups are essentiall pillars of society and publicly high profile and easily identifiable with the general public. Can we imagine the uproar if NHS cleaners are paid a pittance when cleanliness in hospitalis is not only high profile but essential. 5) I think acadamic bodies who might help ananlyse the deeper result of individuals being paid poorly and how this, we suspect, affects mental and physical health, crime rates among children in poverty, the use of illegal substances among children in poverty, the generational downward spiral linked to poverty. Poverty doesn't exist in a vacuum and affects all areas of society. I think education bodies, if we are to maximise our potential talent out there we have to get in touch with, that young lady or young guy with the potential to cure cancer - I fear - is constantly being overlooked because they have the wrong post code or they and their family are so swamped by their impoverished condition they have not opportunity to perform to their full potential - this is myopic.