West Dunbartonshire Council released the figures for 2014 as the country’s leading homeless charity said changes to the welfare state mean increased support for the homeless was more important than ever.

The local authority said in the 2012/13 financial year 1,369 people or families presented themselves as being homeless, whilst the number in 2013/14 was 1,370.

However, in terms of the number of households assessed as homeless, this figure actually reduced slightly from 1037 in 2012/13 to 1026 in 2013/14.

Annual statistics were released by the council as the Scottish Government said it’s most recent data for July to September 2014 had shown a reduction in homelessness applications by three per cent on the same period last year.

West Dunbartonshire bucked the trend however as homelessness applications in the region during that period jumped from 336 in 2013 to 348 in 2014.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “The council is committed to reducing homelessness and our current homelessness strategy outlines how we plan to achieve this. Our main objective is prevention, and a recent review of our homelessness service will allow us to focus more on early intervention. These changes are due to be fully implemented by April this year. Actions include introducing a young persons and family mediation service and providing new support services aimed at helping tenants sustain their tenancies. We will continue to monitor the levels of homelessness closely and hope that our increasing focus on early intervention has a positive impact.” Graeme Brown, from Shelter Scotland, said: “With the significant weakening of the welfare state in recent years, it is more important than ever to ensure that vulnerable households are offered support before they are pushed into crisis. For those who do find themselves without a home, a strong housing safety net should be there to provide the services, advice and information they need to help build a pathway out of homelessness.”