# English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026, Section 1: Strategic authorities

Extent: E+W

(1) This section sets out the meaning of “strategic authority” and other related expressions for the purposes of this Act.
Strategic authorities
(2) “Strategic authority” means—
(a) a single foundation strategic authority,
(b) a combined foundation strategic authority, or
(c) a mayoral strategic authority, including an established mayoral strategic authority.
Foundation strategic authorities
(3) “Single foundation strategic authority” means—
(a) a unitary district council, or
(b) a county council,
which is designated under section 3.
(4) “Combined foundation strategic authority” means—
(a) a non-mayoral combined authority, or
(b) a non-mayoral combined county authority.
Mayoral strategic authorities
(5) “Mayoral strategic authority” means—
(a) a mayoral combined authority,
(b) a mayoral combined county authority, or
(c) the GLA.
Established mayoral strategic authorities
(6) A mayoral strategic authority is “established” if it is—
(a) a mayoral combined authority which is designated under section 106B of LDEDCA 2009,
(b) a mayoral combined county authority which is designated under section 25A of LURA 2023, or
(c) the GLA.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/23/section/1 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/english-devolution-and-community-empowerment-act-2026/section-1
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.