A borough with one of the worst levels of homelessness in the country has pledged to do more to help reduce the number of people sleeping rough.

Haringey has the third highest level of homelessness in the country, with almost 3,000 people living in temporary accommodation.

As with other London boroughs, Haringey has seen the number of people sleeping rough rocket.

In partnership with homelessness charities and community and voluntary groups, the council has pledged to take further steps to help buck the trend.

These include earlier intervention to prevent people becoming homeless, increasing the supply of accommodation available, and working closely with people living in temporary housing to help them find a permanent home.

Alan Strickland, Haringey’s cabinet member for housing, regeneration and planning, said: “It is appalling that anyone has to sleep rough on the streets in the 21st century.

“We know that levels of rough sleeping and homelessness in Haringey are unacceptably high, and we are committed to doing more to tackle the root causes.

“Preventing homelessness is a complex challenge and there are no easy answers. These new strategies will see us working closely with charities and community groups to meet challenges together, intervening to prevent homelessness and supporting people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming so, to forge a more stable future.”

The council also proposes to review levels of under-occupation in its housing stock, root out tenancy fraud and sub-letting and work with people living in temporary accommodation to develop a personalised and realistic ‘move on’ plan to help them into their own homes.

The pressures on people who are struggling has been exacerbated in recent years by changes to the welfare system, rising private sector rents, increasing house prices and cuts to council budgets.

A new Homelessness Reduction Act comes into force in April that places extra responsibilities on local authorities to tackle the issue.