Hammersmith and Fulham: local authority assessment

How we assess local authorities

Assessment published: 9 May 2025

About Hammersmith and Fulham

Demographics

The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham is a unitary authority in inner London with 186,176 residents. It is an urban area bordered to the south by the River Thames, with 21 electoral wards stretching from College Park and Old Oak in the north to Sands End in the south. Hammersmith & Fulham has an Index of Multiple Deprivation score of 6 (with 10 being the highest and most deprived) and is rated 68th out of 153 (1st being most deprived), with higher levels of deprivation in the north. The cost of housing is higher than the London average for rental and purchase.

It is a diverse borough, with residents from over 150 different countries, 37% of people are from ethnic minority groups (excluding white minorities), of whom 12.26% are Black, Black British, Caribbean or African and 10.54% are Asian or Asian British. More broadly there were also established European communities. The population is young with 72.17% of people being of working age. There are 20,034 people over the age of 65, but this is expected to grow.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council are part of the Northwest London Integrated Care System which includes 8 London boroughs, 7 NHS trusts and 2 specialist care providers. The Hammersmith and Fulham Health and Care partnership coordinates health and social care integration at a local level.

Hammersmith & Fulham is a Labour controlled council with 39 members. There are 10 Conservatives members and members 1 independent member. Hammersmith & Fulham have provided home care without charge to its residents for nearly 10 years.

Financial facts

The Financial facts for Hammersmith and Fulham are:

• The local authority estimated that in 2023/24, its total budget would be £325,120,000. Its actual spend for that year was £371,169,000 which was £46,049,000 more than estimated.
• The local authority estimated that it would spend £70,952,000 of its total budget on adult social care in 2022/23. Its actual spend was £84,989,000 which is £14,037,000 more than estimated.
• In 2022/2023, 22.9% of the budget was spent on adult social care.
• The local authority has raised the full adult social care precept for 2023/24, with a value of 2%. Please note that the amount raised through ASC precept varies from local authority to local authority.
• Approximately 3200 people were accessing long-term adult social care support, and approximately 495 people were accessing short-term adult social care support in 2022/23. Local authorities spend money on a range of adult social care services, including supporting individuals. No two care packages are the same and vary significantly in their intensity, duration, and cost.

This data is reproduced at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care. It has not been factored into our assessment and is presented for information purposes only.