Minimum wage changes: Rate sees the biggest increase in six years but is it enough?

The minimum wage is rising today in the biggest increase since the 2008 financial crisis for Britain’s lowest-paid workers.

Adults will be paid more 19p more than the previous rate, bringing the hourly wage to £6.50, while apprentices and under-20s will receive less.
According to the Government, the above-inflation change will mean more than 1 million people see their pay rise by up to £355 a year.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said the minimum wage was a “vital safety net” for low-paid workers.
“As signs of a stronger economy start to emerge, we need to do more to make sure that the benefits of growth are shared fairly across the board,” he added.
He called for recommendations by the Low Pay Commission, rather than political concerns in Parliament, to continue deciding the rates.

The body, established in 1997 and made up of elected experts, sets minimum wage grades that can be accepted or rejected by the Government.
Mr Cable had asked it to look at how the minimum wage can be further increased in the future by amounts that “current conditions” do not allow.
 Groups including the Living Wage Foundation argue that the rate still does not reflect the increased cost of living.
Research by the Resolution Foundation think tank claimed that increasing numbers of employees are getting “stuck” on the minimum wage for years.
The number of workers receiving it has doubled since it was introduced in 1999.
Matthew Whittaker, chief economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: “The minimum wage used to always rise faster than inflation but the recession has blown it way off course.
“Today's minimum wage is no higher in real terms than it was almost a decade ago.”
The think-tank calculated that if the rate had continued on its pre-recession course, it would be set to reach £10.83 an hour by 2019.