Barnet Council is still struggling to tackle homelessness after changes to government legislation led to a higher burden of paperwork for housing officers.

The council prevented 381 people from becoming homeless in the third quarter of 2018-19 – up from 222 during the previous three months.

But despite the uptick in performance, it still fell short of its target for the year so far.

The council says the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 has increased the amount of paperwork its officers have to fill out when helping those in need.

The change to legislation means local authorities now need to come up with a “personalised plan” for each individual at risk of becoming homeless.

Housing supply problems mean the council is also having to house too many people in emergency temporary accommodation.

But the council has increased its provision of affordable homes – a measure that could help tackle the borough’s homelessness problems in the long term.

Tackling homelessness remains the only area in which Barnet Council’s housing committee is behind its target for the year so far.

It is on track to meet its commitments on building compliance and fire safety, improving the quality of the private rented sector and providing suitable housing support for vulnerable people.

The housing committee’s performance will be discussed at its next meeting on Monday (April 1).

A council spokesman said: “We have a solid rate of homelessness prevention, and it’s getting better.

“We’ve developed a strong strategy to secure permanent accommodation for people who are homeless, to support them, and to prevent them from becoming homeless again.

“We want everyone in Barnet to have a permanent home, and we will do everything we can to make this happen.”