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JamesBugman I was lucky never to be on the National Living Wage or whatever they call it now, but it was introduced in the UK to try to prevent employers getting away with excessively low wages.
We are taxed on income by Income Tax itself, plus what is a bit misleadingly called the "National Insurance". That is a tax originally devised to support the National Health Service, but not an insurance or savings policy at all.
However, employees are exempt below certain income levels. I don't know the actual figures.
Most medical treatment here is free but there are exceptions. The dentists are all private businesses but if you are lucky enough to be one of their NHS patients you pay considerably less than the private patients' fees. Similarly with opticians. The specialists' fees are made up by the State... i.e. from taxes generally!
We also pay for prescription medicines until age 60 but at a flat rate that must be below the real cost, and that goes to the NHS not the pharmacist. They are reimbursed somehow but I don't know how. (Since most people now work beyond 60, I cannot understand why not pay until State Pension age; with exceptions for those on certain welfare benefits.)
Housing is very expensive here, though that does vary considerably around the country depending on the attractiveness of the area and the supply of work etc. A big problem in some areas is the buying of houses as second-homes, or for using as holiday-lets and Air B-&-B accommodation. This raises the areas' general house prices by scarcity and prices them out of local reach. Rents are steep and if you have to rent you are unlikely to afford to save for a house deposit.
Motoring is costly too - and not everyone lives within easy reach of frequent public transport that suits all their needs.
