The DTI website confirms that the national minimum wage (for those 22 & over) will rise to �5.35 per hour for the first 'pay reference period' starting on or after 1 October, 2006.
For most people, that means the rate goes up from Sunday, 1 October. For someone who gets paid fortnightly or 4-weekly, the new rate doesn't come into effect until the start of the first full pay period which commences on, or after, 1 October.
http://www.dti.gov.uk/employment/pay/national- minimum-wage/index.html
Chris