One in every 48 people is homeless in Barnet, according to newly-released figures.

Homelessness charity Shelter released a run-down last week of the top 50 hotspots for homelessness in the UK, with areas of London taking up the first 17 places.

Barnet comes eleventh with a total of 7,740 people throughout the borough of no fixed abode.

Of this total, 7,719 people are living in temporary accommodation and 21 people are sleeping rough.

Chair of the housing committee at Barnet Council Cllr Tom Davey said: “Barnet Council recognises the importance of tackling homelessness.

“Our housing strategy focuses on increasing the supply of housing, preventing people from becoming homeless and reducing the reliance on temporary housing.”

In October, Barnet Homes completed the first 40 council homes in 20 years at a site in Mill Hill with an additional 320 new “affordable” rented homes to be built next year.

The borough’s housing provider also aims to build 300 “mixed tenure” homes – meaning a mix of

As part of the strategy, the council aims to build 27,000 new homes in the borough between 2010 and 2030, with 8,300 of them to be deemed “affordable”.

The council was given an extra £410,000 for the year to increase staff working on rehousing people out of temporary homes and “homelessness preventions”, as well increasing access to privately rented housing.