According to a Joseph Rowntree Foundation report published yesterday, the national minimum wage (NMW) of £6.19 compares with a wage of £8.62 to £9.91 necessary to provide a socially acceptable standard of living.
Alan Manning of the LSE acknowledges the enduring problem of low pay despite the existence of the NMW for the past 14 years and reports on an initiative to revitalise the minimum wage concept including possible sector specific strategies in areas like retail and social care where poverty pay is endemic:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/archives/34433