Bribery

Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis

The Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) applies to individuals as well as any business that is incorporated or trades in the UK. It covers bribery committed by an organisation, or on its behalf, anywhere in the world. BA 2010, therefore, has extraterritorial effect. It was designed to provide an effective legal framework to tackle corruption in both the public and private sectors.

Offences under BA 2010

BA 2010 criminalises:

  1. •

    bribing another person. This is often known as active bribery

  2. •

    soliciting or accepting a bribe. This is often known as passive bribery

  3. •

    bribing a foreign public official, and

  4. •

    for a business or commercial organisation only, failing to prevent bribery

The offences are discussed in more detail below. Practice Note: The Bribery Act 2010—an introductory guide introduces the offences of bribery contained in BA 2010 as well as covering territorial application, facilitation payments, gifts and hospitality, and exceptions and penalties. It also introduces the concept of having adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery by adopting the use of anti-corruption practices, as well as summarising indicators of corruption and the consequences of corruption if proven.

Who

To view the latest version of this document and thousands of others like it, sign-in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial.

Existing user? Sign-in TAKE A FREE TRIAL
Powered by Lexis+®
Latest Local Government News

DfE announces plans to roll out Education Record app for GCSE results

The Department for Education (DfE) has announced plans to enable all Year 11 pupils in England to access their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exam results via the new Education Record app from summer 2026. The app aims to modernise exam record-keeping, support smoother post-16 enrolment, and reduce administrative burdens for schools and colleges. It will also allow employers to access pupils’ education histories without relying on paper certificates. This plan forms part of the government’s wider Plan for Change.

Local Government weekly highlights—8 January 2026

The first 2026 edition of Local Government weekly highlights includes case analysis of Daniah v SSE, in which the High Court confirmed that appeals against teaching prohibition orders are reviews rather than re-hearings and cannot be used to challenge underlying criminal findings of fact, as well as analysis of the government’s decision to transfer responsibility for future SEND deficits from councils to central government and what this may mean for the direction of SEND reform, and a summary of the planning-related provisions of the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 following Royal Assent, outlining key planning and infrastructure reforms and their potential implications for the planning system in England. It includes further updates on Education, Planning, Public procurement, Social housing, Children’s social care, Social care, Governance, Local government finance and Licensing.

DfE publishes policy paper on regulation-making powers for multi-agency child protection teams

The Department for Education (DfE) has published a policy paper setting out the intended scope and content of the regulation-making powers for multi-agency child protection teams (MACPTs) set out in clause 3 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Clause 3 introduces a new duty for safeguarding partners to establish MACPTs and enables the Secretary of State to use regulations to prescribe MACPT functions, qualification and skills requirements for members and relevant agencies that safeguarding partners may approach to support MACPT operations.  The policy paper addresses concerns raised in the House of Lords regarding the operation of MACPTs and the level of prescription in regulations. To inform the development of the regulations, the DfE intends to: (1) engage with relevant sectors; (2) draw on existing evidence of effective multi-agency working; (3) consider emerging evidence from the Families First for Children pathfinder areas and (4) use evidence from the national rollout of the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme. The regulations will be subject to consultation and parliamentary scrutiny, with the aim of them coming into force in late 2027, subject to Royal Assent.

CQC round-up—7 January 2026

A round-up of the latest news from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), including four adult social care providers rated inadequate.

View Local Government by content type :  
News
Practice notes
Precedents
Q&As

Popular documents

Structure of local government

Structure of local governmentThere are some basic elements of local authorities that tend to be overlooked by new members (councillors) and new officers alike, including lawyers.Structure and purpose of local authoritiesLocal authorities are organisations, created by statute as single legal

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companies

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companiesWhy does it matter?A company that is a member of a group and has incurred any of the types of losses available for surrender by way of group relief may, without any further rules, have more than one way in which to use the loss. There are a

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the current registered owner? Or does the informal exoneration only apply to the parties to the document which informally exonerated the rentcharge?This Q&A considers the situation where, at some

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal fees, will that count as a PET against their estate?A disclaimer is the refusal of a gift prior to acceptance. The refusal of the gift must take place before the beneficiary accepts any benefit
Structure of local government

Structure of local government

Structure of local governmentThere are some basic elements of local authorities that tend to be overlooked by new members (councillors) and new officers alike, including lawyers.Structure and purpose of local authoritiesLocal authorities are organisations, created by statute as single legal

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companies

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companies

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companiesWhy does it matter?A company that is a member of a group and has incurred any of the types of losses available for surrender by way of group relief may, without any further rules, have more than one way in which to use the loss. There are a

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the

If a rentcharge is shown as being informally exonerated on title information, does this apply to the current registered owner? Or does the informal exoneration only apply to the parties to the document which informally exonerated the rentcharge?This Q&A considers the situation where, at some

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal

If a beneficiary signs a deed of disclaimer of their share of an estate and the estate pays their legal fees, will that count as a PET against their estate?A disclaimer is the refusal of a gift prior to acceptance. The refusal of the gift must take place before the beneficiary accepts any benefit