A single person in Britain needs a gross income of at least £14,400 in 2010 for a minimum acceptable standard of living, says the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

A couple with two children needs at least £29,200, the JRF added, in a research report which aims to show "what ordinary members of the public think is needed - not just to survive but to take part in society".

The findings suggest that people on low incomes are finding it increasingly difficult to get by, as the gap between the minimum wage and the amount people needed to earn in order to achieve a minimum standard of living had widened during the past year.

The JRF report faults the lower rate of inflation reported by the consumer prices index (CPI) as compared to the actual inflation faced by people living on low incomes. The cost of a minimum budget had risen over the past 10 years by 38 per cent, whereas the CPI has simultaneously risen only 23 per cent.

The benchmark for an "acceptable standard of living" included food and housing, transport, social activities and a week's holiday in the UK each year.