Praise for Borough's Financial Management
Report says 'robust governance' sees need for value for money
Hammersmith & Fulham judged to be financially well-run
July 11, 2025
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has been hailed as “very ambitious and financially well-run” in a review by local authority peers.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council was praised for its ability to hit savings targets and funding of “political priorities”, such as low council tax rates and community safety services. The council is also the only local authority in England to provide free homecare.
Its leadership and the work done to collaborate with both private and public sector partners was similarly singled out, with the council’s Upstream programme described as “an exemplar of strong political leadership”.
The Finance Peer Challenge (FPC) is led by the Local Government Association (LGA), of which Hammersmith and Fulham is a member.
Conducted by a panel including councillors from Wigan, Croydon and Liverpool City councils, the review scrutinises financial leadership and provides a series of recommendations. The FPC into Hammersmith and Fulham took place over three days this April.
The peer team held more than 40 meetings with individuals from the Leader to opposition members and senior officers.
Five core areas were assessed by the FPC: financial leadership, financial strategy, planning and forecasting, decision-making, financial outcomes, and partnership and innovation.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council also requested a focus on transformation and commissioning decisions.
In their report, the FPC wrote positively on the council’s financial management, with praise across all of the core areas assessed.
In the executive summary, the peer review team wrote: “LBHF’s strong focus on ‘being ruthlessly financially efficient’ is led and supported by very capable members and officers. It was clear that there is a high level of political support for, and challenge of, financial management. Robust financial governance is supported by a management culture that recognises the importance of value for money.”
Seven recommendations are listed, including progressing the appointment of an independent member to the Audit Committee, improving the scrutiny and audit functions with regular training and support, and sharing learning with the wider sector from its work on Upstream, the council’s industrial strategy.
At Wednesday night’s Full Council meeting (9 July), Cllr Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, said at a time when news about local government balance sheets is typically worrying, “this gives us a chance to reassure residents in Hammersmith and Fulham that their finances are being well looked after”.
After outlining several highlights from the report, Cllr Ree said finding and removing wasteful spending is harder than it sounds, pointing to the challenges encountered by Elon Musk’s DOGE in the US and Reform councils in the UK.
“Faced with a 54 per cent real terms cut to our grant from central government [since 2010] we have not only protected the services we offer to residents, but we’ve gone further, providing services like free breakfasts to primary school children, free homecare for those who need it, a unique Law Enforcement Team,” he said. “All this while cutting or freezing council tax five times in the last 10 years.”
Leader of the Opposition, Conservative councillor Jose Afonso, described the report as a “nuanced read”, saying it showed “concerning weaknesses” and a “damning assessment of our scrutiny arrangements”.
“While the report acknowledges a basic level of financial competence, it exposes an administration struggling with strategic vision, democratic accountability, and honest engagement with residents.”
Cllr Ree later rose again to close the item, telling members: “Just in case anyone thinks I’ve been congratulating myself too much this evening, I’d like to congratulate the Leader of the Opposition. It’s certainly very creative to have read this report and come up with the speech that you did.”
On Cllr Afonso’s comments regarding scrutiny, Cllr Ree said, “Scrutiny is supposed to come from the opposition. I’d say that’s a pretty damning assessment of your own colleagues.”
The report was noted by councillors. It is to be considered by Cabinet on 14 July and the Policy and Oversight Board two days later.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter