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The Living Wage Can Actually Make A Difference: Here's How Far An Extra £1.34 Will Go

Here's Proof An Extra £1.34 An Hour Can Make A Huge Difference
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Jessica Elgot is Assistant News Editor at The Huffington Post UK

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A young girl spends the half term school holiday playing in an an alleyway in the Gorton area of Manchester
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images

What difference does £1.34 make?

According to a year-long study by the Living Wage Commission, it could be enough to end the "national scandal" of working poverty, and lift one million people out of desperation.

Professional service firms such as accountancy, banks and construction companies could boost the pay of 375,000 workers if they agreed to pay the Living Wage, currently set at £7.65, £8.80 an hour in London, compared to the national minimum wage of £6.31, said the report.

The commission, chaired by Archbishop of York John Sentamu, said increasing the pay of half a million public sector workers to the Living Wage could be more than met by higher tax revenues and reduced in-work benefits from a similar number of employees in private firms.

The commission, made up of business, union and voluntary sector leaders, said extending the Living Wage depended on the Government adopting a goal to increase the voluntary take up of the higher rate to at least a million more workers by 2020, otherwise families will continue to rely on food banks and "unsustainable debt".

How much of a difference would it really make? We've crunched the numbers.

Minimum Wage Rise- What It Could Buy
An extra £1.34 an hour could buy you a whole bag of apples(01 of13)
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Many different supermarkets sell apples for this price or less. And it's a great way to spend the money, seeing as poor children are often priced out of a healthy meal. (credit:PA)
An extra £10.72 a day could buy colouring pens and pencils(02 of13)
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It could help families like Vicky's - she told Save the Children last month that colouring pencils and paper were a luxury her family could ill-afford, even though her son loves art. (credit:Flickr:ramnath bhat)
Or buy a roast dinner for the family(03 of13)
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It is possible - here's Hear'say's Suzanne Shaw to show you how. And it's more important than ever, with research showing more than 20 per cent of British families sits down for a family meal only once or twice a week. (credit:PA)
Or take the family swimming(04 of13)
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A third of children cannot swim even a short distance of 25 metres by the time they leave school, and this extra money to cover the cost to get them in the water and get learning. (credit:Getty Images)
An extra £53.60 a week could buy a council gym membership for a month(05 of13)
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Three quarters of men in Britain will be overweight or obese by 2030, according to the UK Heart Forum. But gym memberships can be prohibitively expensive. (credit:PA)
An extra £214.20 over a month could buy a bike to get to work(06 of13)
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You don't have to spend a fortune, there's a whole range of bikes under £200 And it saves money on petrol. (credit:Getty Images)
Or buy a new school uniform(07 of13)
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Buying a school uniform can be a nightmare for parents with the average cost of a uniform for secondary school pupils is £285 and £156 for primary school children. The Local Government Association has warned that, with the status quo, parents are being forced to borrow money from friends or go into debt to pay for uniforms. (credit:PA)
An extra £428.40 over two months could buy a family holiday in France (08 of13)
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It won't buy anything luxurious, but every family deserves a little time together in the sun, even if it needs to cost under £500. And holidays inspire disadvantaged children to learn more, according to research from Nottingham University.
Or cover the average rise in rent(09 of13)
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The average deposit for renting a flat has risen 50% since 2007, and is now £900. Yet over the same period, average earnings in the UK have grown from just £457.60 to £517.50 a week, with almost no real growth once inflation is taken into account. This extra money would mean families could more ablely afford the eye-watering amounts they have to pay in deposits. (credit:Getty Images)
An extra £1285.20 over six months could mean a family is able to start saving money(10 of13)
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According to the Labour party, the economic crisis has meant that the average family will be worse off by £974 a year by the time of next year's election. With this rise in pay, families could mitigate the effects of the recession, and perhaps begin to save. (credit:PA)
An extra £2570.40 over a year could buy a family a secondhand car(11 of13)
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There's plenty of cars on the secondhand market for this price. (credit:Getty Images)
Or start your child saving for university(12 of13)
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You can put up to £3,600 a year into Junior Isas for those aged 17 or under, tax-free. (credit:Getty Images)
But if you want to buy a house..(13 of13)
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It will take 12 years to save for an average deposit - which is £31,000. In the North it would take only six years because the average deposit is £15,862. In London, it would take almost 22 years to save the average deposit of £56,183. (credit:PA)
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