Combined authorities meaning

Across sectors where high‑value, cross‑border transactions are commonplace, exposure to financial crime is pronounced. Specific hazards include the possibility that assets traded are stolen or were acquired with the proceeds of crime; that either buyer or seller is implicated in terrorist activity; or that the asset functions simply as a vehicle for money laundering or terrorist financing. Although anti‑money laundering (AML) controls—such as requirements to disclose suspicious activity—are now firmly embedded within many firms’ compliance procedures, the absence of parallel counter‑terrorist financing controls persists as a key weakness. There are important lessons to draw from Ojiri’s case. Art sales lead to hot water From October 2020 to December 2021, Ojiri is reported to have sold eight artworks, with a combined value of £140,000, to an individual alleged to be involved in terrorist financing. Although this individual was not personally designated under the UK sanctions regime until April 2023, he had been listed by US authorities in 2019 as a ‘special designated global terrorist’, thereby barring him from entering...

In this issue: Brexit headlines Brexit SIs Post-Brexit transition guidance Constitutional and administrative law Equality and human rights Subsidy control and State aid Public procurement Management and strategic planning Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information Brexit headlines ESC publishes fifth Report of Session 2023–2024 The European Scrutiny Committee (ESC) has released its fifth Report for Session 2023–2024, covering items considered at that meeting too. At its 13 December 2023 meeting, the ESC reviewed Windsor Framework material from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on formaldehyde and legislative changes to EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) rules. The Committee also examined Trade and Cooperation Agreement papers from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) concerning electric accumulators and electrified vehicles. See: LNB News 14/02/2024 27. Brexit SIs Railways (Revocation and Consequential Provision) Regulations...

Editor’s note Welcome to the third issue of the Public Law case law quarterly for 2025, spanning the third quarter of the year. Marking 25 years to the day since the Human Rights Act 1998 came into effect, we open with close scrutiny of recent human rights case law and closely connected considerations, starting with the Supreme Court’s judgment in Shvidler v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. In that appeal, the Court ultimately rejected claims brought by individuals and companies challenging the UK’s post‑Brexit sanctions framework as a disproportionate interference with their rights. The ruling carries significant consequences for future judicial review of executive measures adopted for foreign policy and security purposes, and is essential reading for practitioners across sanctions, constitutional and human rights law. This edition also covers the Supreme Court’s judgment in Department for Business and Trade v Information Commissioner, which clarifies how public bodies should approach information when falling within multiple qualified exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FIA 2000)....

Under section 23 of the Local Government Act 1974 (LGA 1974), the office of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) is established to look into complaints about maladministration and/or service failings involving the following bodies: any local authority, covering its members, officers, and any committee or subcommittee (but not town or parish councils) combined authorities, or a joint board where all constituent bodies are local authorities a development corporation constituted for the purposes of a news town, or an urban development corporation fire and rescue commissioners school admission appeal panels police and crime commissioners a national park authority See Practice Note: Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. What is Maladministration? Section 26 of the LGA 1974 sets out what the LGO may investigate, but Maladministration itself is not defined in the statute...

Planning responsibilities across the Greater London area are discharged by the following: the Mayor of London (the Mayor) the 32 London Boroughs the City of London Corporation two Mayoral Development Corporations for specific areas The government has issued guidance on the legislation and scrutiny of Mayoral Development Corporations operating within combined authorities and within combined county authorities. Powers under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (GLAA 1999) established a Greater London Assembly for the Greater London Area, with the objective of promoting economic and social development in Greater London and improving the environment across the area. The GLAA 1999 further provides for a directly elected Mayor, empowered to undertake any of the authority’s important functions on its behalf, and who holds responsibility for strategic governance in London. The planning functions are set out in GLAA 1999, Pt VIII, as well as in subordinate legislation. These functions relate to: strategic planning...

This Practice Note sets out an overview of local authority structure and purpose. It also summarises governance models and explains the respective roles of members and officers within those arrangements. It highlights fundamental features that are often missed by newly elected members (councillors) and newly appointed officers, lawyers included. Structure and purpose of local authorities Local authorities are organisations brought into being by statute as single legal entities. They may act only as legislation authorises, whether under their establishing statute or through other enactments that extend their powers. Any action must also pursue solely the purposes Parliament intended when passing the relevant statutes. Where an authority acts outside those powers, or for a purpose not so intended—wilfully as an abuse of power, or inadvertently—it is acting ‘beyond its powers’. This is the concept of ‘ultra vires’. Any ultra vires act by a local authority is liable to legal challenge...