The London Borough of Hammersmith (as it was originally named) and its council were created under the
London Government Act 1963, with the first election held
in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's two outgoing authorities, being the
metropolitan borough councils of
Fulham and
Hammersmith. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. The council changed the borough's name from 'Hammersmith' to 'Hammersmith and Fulham' with effect from 1 April 1979. Since then, the council's full legal name has been "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham", but it styles itself Hammersmith and Fulham Council. From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the
Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance,
flood prevention, and
refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Hammersmith and Fulham) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and
refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Hammersmith and Fulham became a
local education authority in 1990 when the
Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. Since 2000 the
Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the
English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. The council was involved in a landmark
English administrative law case in 1991,
Hazell v Hammersmith and Fulham LBC, which ruled that local authorities had no power to engage in
interest rate swap agreements because they were beyond the council's borrowing powers. In 2021 the council was said by the
Housing Ombudsman to be the worst performing landlord in the country with regard to damp and mould in its properties. ==Powers and functions==