We all know that many people in West Somerset have to get by on low wages. But this report reveals just how bad the problem is.

When you look at the chart of low pay, the figure for West Somerset jumps off the page. In most council areas, the figure for people who don’t earn enough to live on is between 20 and 30 per cent. The figure of more than 40 per cent for West Somerset is shocking.

The problem is about to made worse by the Tory cuts to tax credits. From next year, the government will start to take away tax credits from a single person with no children as soon as he or she is earning £75 a week. Families with children will see similar cuts.

Better wages backed up by a fair benefits system are the best way out of poverty. That means employers should pay the true living wage and in-work benefits should provide a decent standing of living for those who can’t work full time.

Low pay is a problem in other parts of Somerset. The ONS report says the percentage of workers getting less than the living wage is 33 per cent in Sedgemoor; 32 per cent in Mendip; 23 per cent in Taunton Deane and 22 per cent in South Somerset.

Andy Lewis, Minehead Labour councillor