The Living Wage is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. Employers choose to pay it on a voluntary basis.

BBC: Newark and Sherwood council: Living wage to be paid

And secondary school teacher Craig Macartney, from Suffolk, said he had noted that increasing numbers of children from middle to lower income households were missing school trips as families struggled to meet the basic cost of living.

BBC: Poverty hitting pupils' learning, survey suggests

They include such things as paying workers based on a formula that allows them to meet basic cost-of-living needs.

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That means the military will receive a 1.45% increase in basic pay in May, which is still below the rising cost of living.

BBC: Budget 2013: Public sector pay rise cap extended