# BoroughBook.UK

> An independent, plain-English account of Hammersmith & Fulham Council's money and promises: your council tax bill by band, the budget, how this year's gap was closed, a tool to balance next year, and payments over £500. Not run by the council.

BoroughBook.UK is an independent project. It is not run by, endorsed by or affiliated with Hammersmith & Fulham Council. Made by Pavel Guzhikov (https://guzh.uk).

## What is on the site

- Home (https://boroughbook.uk/): a first screen of cards (the year's figures, the promises at a glance, next year's council tax rise to try in Balance it, a postcode finder, four promises to watch picked by fixed rules, and a logbook of what was added, moved, reworded or checked), then every section on one page.
- Your bill (https://boroughbook.uk/bill): pick a council tax band and see what you pay, how it splits between the council and the Mayor of London, and what your share pays for.
- The budget (https://boroughbook.uk/budget): where the council's day-to-day money comes from and what it pays for. By law it must balance every year.
- The gap (https://boroughbook.uk/gap): how this year's gap between costs and funding opened, and how it was closed with council tax, savings and reserves.
- Council tax next year (https://boroughbook.uk/council-tax-rise): the council's three options for 2027/28 from its report to Cabinet on 12 October 2026 (its own share of the bill up 100%, 125% or 150%), worked out for every band as the whole bill and the extra a week; why it is happening; and the timetable to the decision, with how to have your say. The percentages apply to the council's share, not the whole bill, which includes the Mayor of London's.
- Council tax decoder (https://boroughbook.uk/council-tax): for every one of England's 296 councils that send council tax bills, the 2026/27 Band D bill split between the council's own share, the county council or the Mayor of London, police, fire, the combined authority and parish councils on average, with the change on 2025/26, from the government's council tax requirement tables (Table 10). One page per council at https://boroughbook.uk/council-tax/<council>, found by postcode; and where across England the council's own share rose most, and where the other bodies drove the rise.
- Balance it (https://boroughbook.uk/balance): next year's gap with the real choices a council has, including the referendum limit on council tax rises and the one-off nature of reserves.
- Promises (https://boroughbook.uk/promises, each pledge at https://boroughbook.uk/promise/<id>): each party's pledges, from its 2026 manifesto (headline pledges first, then the rest in page order) and since, quoted word for word with the page, an archived copy, a status and a timeline. Every two weeks the AI Journalist (Claude, an AI) looks for new pledges from every party and checks each quote word for word against its source; a pledge appears only after the editor, Pavel Guzhikov, has read its quote against the source and approved it. Each approved card says so: "Checked by the AI Journalist and approved by Pavel Guzhikov". Pledges are costed per Band D home where a cost can be sourced. The party with more than half the seats is the administration; every party is held to the same rules.
- Council decisions (https://boroughbook.uk/decisions): every Cabinet and Full Council decision since January 2026 from the council's own records, with the pledges each one moves; a link is suggested by an AI with the decision's exact words and added only when an editor confirms it.
- Your ward (https://boroughbook.uk/wards): find any of the 21 wards by postcode or on a map, with its councillors (all 50, with their posts, from the council's own records), pledges about the ward, the wards next to it and a link to report street problems on FixMyStreet.
- What the council is building (https://boroughbook.uk/building): the four-year capital programme, scheme by scheme, how it is paid for and the debt it leaves.
- Council homes (https://boroughbook.uk/council-homes): the ring-fenced account council rents pay into, where the money goes, council rents against private rents, and the building work on council homes.
- Other councils: Barking and Dagenham (https://boroughbook.uk/barking-and-dagenham), Belfast (https://boroughbook.uk/belfast), Bexley (https://boroughbook.uk/bexley), Birmingham (https://boroughbook.uk/birmingham), Brent (https://boroughbook.uk/brent), Bromley (https://boroughbook.uk/bromley), Camden (https://boroughbook.uk/camden), Cardiff (https://boroughbook.uk/cardiff), Croydon (https://boroughbook.uk/croydon), Ealing (https://boroughbook.uk/ealing), Edinburgh (https://boroughbook.uk/edinburgh), Glasgow (https://boroughbook.uk/glasgow), Hackney (https://boroughbook.uk/hackney), Haringey (https://boroughbook.uk/haringey), Harrow (https://boroughbook.uk/harrow), Havering (https://boroughbook.uk/havering), Highland (https://boroughbook.uk/highland), Hounslow (https://boroughbook.uk/hounslow), Islington (https://boroughbook.uk/islington), Kensington and Chelsea (https://boroughbook.uk/kensington-and-chelsea), Kingston upon Thames (https://boroughbook.uk/kingston-upon-thames), Lambeth (https://boroughbook.uk/lambeth), Leeds (https://boroughbook.uk/leeds), Lewisham (https://boroughbook.uk/lewisham), Manchester (https://boroughbook.uk/manchester), Merton (https://boroughbook.uk/merton), Milton Keynes (https://boroughbook.uk/milton-keynes), Newham (https://boroughbook.uk/newham), North Yorkshire (https://boroughbook.uk/north-yorkshire), Redbridge (https://boroughbook.uk/redbridge), Richmond upon Thames (https://boroughbook.uk/richmond-upon-thames), South Oxfordshire (https://boroughbook.uk/south-oxfordshire), Southwark (https://boroughbook.uk/southwark), Sutton (https://boroughbook.uk/sutton), Swindon (https://boroughbook.uk/swindon), Tower Hamlets (https://boroughbook.uk/tower-hamlets), Waltham Forest (https://boroughbook.uk/waltham-forest), Wandsworth (https://boroughbook.uk/wandsworth), Westminster (https://boroughbook.uk/westminster): the bill by band, the budget by service, council tax over five years, and every ward's councillors and election result, from government returns and the council's own records, with the same checks. In Belfast, homes pay rates rather than council tax: the bill is worked out from a home's capital value, split between the council's district rate and the Northern Ireland Executive's regional rate, and councillors are shown by district electoral area.
- Payments over £500 (https://boroughbook.uk/payments): every payment in the council's quarterly spend files (excluding VAT), by month, organisation and service, reconciled to each file. Payments to people, such as direct payments for care, appear only as totals and nobody is named. Companies, charities and public bodies have their own pages.

Every figure comes from the council's own documents or government returns, and the promise cards and the way payments are grouped into services have been checked by hand. More is being added.

Corrections, and replies from anyone named on a card: boroughs@guzh.uk. The code, data tables and promise cards are open at https://github.com/xternal/boroughbook.uk. Our own text and data are CC BY 4.0 (credit "BoroughBook.UK (Pavel Guzhikov)"), the code is MIT, and council, government and ONS data keep their own licences.

## For AI tools

- Everything in one file: https://boroughbook.uk/llms-full.txt
- Each pledge as Markdown: add .md to its address, for example https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-developments.md
- Feeds of every change: https://boroughbook.uk/follow

## How to cite figures

Every figure is labelled sourced, approx or test, with a link to its source on the page. Do not quote figures labelled test or approx as fact.

Data vintage: 2026-10-10.

- [Home: the first screen, then everything on one page](https://boroughbook.uk/)
- [Your council tax bill](https://boroughbook.uk/bill)
- [The council's budget](https://boroughbook.uk/budget)
- [How this year's gap opened and closed](https://boroughbook.uk/gap)
- [Balance next year's budget](https://boroughbook.uk/balance)
- [How this works](https://boroughbook.uk/method): the rules a council lives by, the quality labels and the questions people ask
- [Promises](https://boroughbook.uk/promises)
- [Council decisions](https://boroughbook.uk/decisions)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: pledges](https://boroughbook.uk/party/labour)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: pledges](https://boroughbook.uk/party/conservative)
- [Care for older and disabled adults: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/care-for-older-and-disabled-adults)
- [Climate and environment: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/climate-and-environment)
- [Community safety: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/community-safety)
- [Health: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/health)
- [Housing and homelessness: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/housing-and-homelessness)
- [Parks, libraries and leisure: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/parks-libraries-and-leisure)
- [Planning and the local economy: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/planning-and-the-local-economy)
- [Running the council: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/running-the-council)
- [Streets, waste and transport: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/streets-waste-and-transport)
- [Young people and jobs: pledges from every party](https://boroughbook.uk/topic/young-people-and-jobs)
- [Your ward: wards and councillors](https://boroughbook.uk/wards)
- [Payments over £500](https://boroughbook.uk/payments)
- [Sources](https://boroughbook.uk/sources)
- [Most read pages](https://boroughbook.uk/most-read): which pages readers open most over the last 7 and 30 days, counted on the server as one number per page per day with nothing about the reader; the daily totals are public at https://boroughbook.uk/views.json
- [Follow changes by RSS](https://boroughbook.uk/follow): feeds for everything (https://boroughbook.uk/feed.xml), every pledge, each ward, each councillor and payments
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Continue our pioneering policy of free adult home care for every resident in need, because when people need care they should face kindness, not anxiety about cost.” (Delivering)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/hf-free-home-care.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Build over 10,000 genuinely affordable homes for local people” (In plan)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-affordable-homes.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Introduce AI-enabled CCTV that identifies weapons and criminals” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-ai-cctv.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Be the best value council in Britain, including free adult home care and cost-of-living support” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-best-value.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Tackle the cost of living through our 60+ partner Cost-of-Living Alliance, expanding debt advice, fuel poverty support and community-based financial help for residents who need it most.” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-cost-of-living.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Maintain one of the most comprehensive Council Tax Support Schemes in the country, so that who pays is as fair as how much they pay.” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-council-tax-support.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Double our Green Investment scheme, which has already raised nearly £5m, letting residents earn market-leading returns while funding local projects and saving the council money.” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-green-investment.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Install new green schemes to reduce energy bills and cut emissions” (Delivering)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-green-schemes.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Invest in our high streets. Extend our unique European partnerships so more local young people gain international work experience” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-high-streets.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Help build new state-of-the-art hospital facilities” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-hospital.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Continue to invest in our Law Enforcement Team, tackling anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and street crime day and night, and opposing any efforts to scrap it.” (Promised)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-law-enforcement-team.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Deliver over £8m new investment in playgrounds and parks” (Delivering)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-parks.md)
- [Hammersmith & Fulham Labour: “Offer every local young person a Pathway Bond career opportunity” (Delivering)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/lab-2026-pathway-bond.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Ensure Hammersmith and Fulham is home to the highest-quality dvelopments - homes that people are proud to live in, and innovative workspaces that bring business to the area” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-developments.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “We will maintain the Gangs Unit and Violence Against Women and Girls Unit.” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-gangs-vawg-units.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Protect and enhance our precious green spaces as the lungs of the borough, get more trees planted, and encourage the community to get involved” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-green-spaces.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Bring all parties together to revive our high streets” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-high-streets.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “We will change the remit of the Law Enforcement Team to ensure they are fully focused on high streets, parks and antisocial behaviour – not whether people are putting their bins out on time.” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-law-enforcement-remit.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Convene the Borough’s best minds to inspire the next generation, making Hammersmith & Fulham a place where the next generation can reach for the sky” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-next-generation.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “A borough-wide parking permit for an additional fee, giving you choice and convenience” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-parking-permit.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Fifty extra Police Officers from the Met to patrol our streets to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-police.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “we will publish clear service standards, be transparent about how we perform, and be honest about what the Council can and cannot do” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-service-standards.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Combine new technology with old-fashioned high standards to ensure residents get the service they deserve while keeping taxes as low as possible” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-services-taxes.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Maintain free adult social care for all residents” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-social-care.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “We will launch a Special Constable recruitment drive, offering incentives such as council tax reductions.” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-special-constables.md)
- [Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives: “Always put our tenants and our leaseholders first and listen to their needs” (Opposition pledge)](https://boroughbook.uk/promise/con-2026-tenants.md)
- [Addison ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/addison)
- [Avonmore ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/avonmore)
- [Brook Green ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/brook-green)
- [College Park and Old Oak ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/college-park-and-old-oak)
- [Coningham ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/coningham)
- [Fulham Reach ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/fulham-reach)
- [Fulham Town ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/fulham-town)
- [Grove ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/grove)
- [Hammersmith Broadway ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/hammersmith-broadway)
- [Lillie ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/lillie)
- [Munster ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/munster)
- [Palace & Hurlingham ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/palace-and-hurlingham)
- [Parsons Green & Sandford ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/parsons-green-and-sandford)
- [Ravenscourt ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/ravenscourt)
- [Sands End ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/sands-end)
- [Shepherds Bush Green ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/shepherds-bush-green)
- [Walham Green ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/walham-green)
- [Wendell Park ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/wendell-park)
- [West Kensington ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/west-kensington)
- [White City ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/white-city)
- [Wormholt ward](https://boroughbook.uk/ward/wormholt)