Dorset families relying on benefits could be forced to go without food in order to pay the rent, according to a charity.

Homelessness charity Crisis published figures that indicate people would have to scrimp on their food budgets because the current level of housing benefit does not cover the full cost of rent.

Research for mid and west Dorset - including Weymouth, Portland and Dorchester - puts the average weekly rent for a low-priced two bedroom property at £149.59.

According to Crisis the average housing benefit rate is £136.93 - leaving a shortfall of £12.66 - equivalent to 21 per cent of a family’s weekly food budget, costing an average £59.

Recent studies also revealed that Weymouth’s foodbank is the busiest in the county. It comes after it was revealed last year that deprivation has worsened in Weymouth and Portland.

Low wages, poverty and lack of opportunities are all issues that blight the area.

Weymouth resident Jill Hordle, 63, said she relies on benefits to top up her wages after mobility problems caused her to have operations on both of her hands, forcing her to go part-time.

She receives Universal Credit for rent and living costs - but for every pound she earns at work, 63 pence is deducted from her Universal Credit payment, so she receives around £140 per month. “Last month my total income from work and Universal Credit was around £838,” she said.

“After paying rent and bills I’m left with around £200 - I’d probably be better off not working.

“I try to survive on one shop at Iceland per month. I haven’t had to use a food bank but it could quite easily get to that stage.

“I’ve worked hard all my life, they should treat people of a certain age with a bit more respect. “When will it stop - when I’m in the ground?” Mrs Hordle said she has previously written to Richard Drax calling for change, and more recently has written to Boris Johnson.

She added: “I want to say to the government: ‘You’ve got into power - now show us what you can do by helping normal people’.”

MP for South Dorset Richard Drax said: “Although the general view is that Universal Credit is working well, we are aware of certain issues and it is something I have highlighted to government.

“Now we are back in power, I will continue to work to make sure people get the right amount of money at the right time.”

Call for action

Campaign group Weymouth and Portland Action on Wages (WeyPAW) is calling for action over high rents in the area.

“We have a dual problem in south Dorset,” says Philip Marfleet, convenor of WeyPAW. “We’ve got low wages and very high housing costs. Building and renting for holiday lets helps to keep house prices high; at the same time we have very high council tax: last year this was the secondhighest in England.

“One result is a serious increase in child poverty: in some areas of Weymouth and Portland this reaches 40 per cent. It’s no surprise that, in order to take care of their families, more people are reliant on food banks as they struggle to pay the rent.”

WeyPAW has asked local authorities to take the lead in tackling wage poverty and to provide affordable housing.

“We urgently need a change of policy,” said Philip Marfleet. “South Dorset is already at the bottom of the national index for social mobility – our local authority needs to grapple with these issues as a top priority.”

A new campaign ‘Low Pay – No Way!’ is a new campaign which launches next week in Dorset.

See next week’s Echo for the full story.