NEW figures showing West Dunbartonshire has the highest homelessness rate of any Scottish council area are “challenging”, says Clydebank’s MSP.

According to the Scottish Government, West Dunbartonshire had 11.9 households assessed as homeless per 100,000 people – almost double the national average.

The top reasons given for making a homelessness application were that tenants were asked to leave, there was a non-violent household dispute, and that there was a violent household dispute. West Dunbartonshire continues to have one of the highest rates of domestic violence, which also affects the picture in Clydebank.

But the statistics suggest Scotland is in the midst of a housing crisis with the number of households in temporary accommodation last year reaching its highest point for any year since records began in 2002.

And in February, it was revealed that more than 200 people who were registered as homeless died in Scotland in 2019, an increase of 11 per cent on the previous year.

Clydebank MSP and Whitecrook councillor Marie McNair laid the blame on UK Government benefit cuts and the Labour Party.

She told the Post: “These are really challenging statistics and behind every number is a real person and family.

“That is why I put on record my thanks to our homeless staff who are working hard to ensure that all homeless households are provided with accommodation without fail.

“Many experts, like the Child Poverty Action Group and Shelter, correctly point out that the one of the main drivers of homelessness is the UK Government’s draconian welfare system and associated cuts.

“This is the elephant in the room and to not consider it when raising this issue is to not take it seriously at all.

“I was really disappointed that Labour tried to amend the Scottish Parliament’s position on this so that any reference to the biggest drivers of homelessness was airbrushed out.

"The council will continue to invest in this service and support our dedicated staff. Affordable housing is also important and that is why the SNP built thousands of new council houses compared to Labour who built virtually none.”

A West Dunbartonshire Council spokeswoman said they remained committed to ensuring vulnerable residents got the support they needed.

She said: “Our homelessness team has delivered an amazing response to unprecedented demand on the service throughout the pandemic, providing homeless households with a quick and sustainable solution to their housing needs.

“While these recent figures are high, we have a wide variety of supports in place including our rapid rehousing plan and Housing First West Dunbartonshire, which provide a person centred approach based on long term housing solutions for those who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

“In addition, we offer advice on employment, benefits and health as well as support to ensure the root causes of people finding themselves homeless are addressed.

“These initiatives combined with the delivery of more than 240 new council homes this year will positively impact in combatting homelessness.”

Shona Robison MSP, Scotland’s cabinet secretary for housing, said: "We introduced protections to prevent evictions, which have contributed to a 42 per cent reduction in homelessness applications from the private rented sector.

“We announced a £10 million fund to support tenants who are struggling as a direct result of the pandemic.

“Although this has contributed to an increase in the numbers in temporary accommodation, our utmost objective now is to step up our work with councils to ensure people are supported into permanent settled accommodation.