Directions (delegated legislation)


Directions are a form of delegated legislation used in the United Kingdom.
An Act of Parliament or other delegated legislation may confer a power on a Minister to give Directions so as to enable that Minister to give instructions to a public body or group of public bodies which are not under the Minister's direct control. The directions thereby effectively convert instructions which would otherwise only have strong political weight to legally binding orders with which the recipient must comply.
Because they are generally of interest to a relatively limited group of public bodies, Directions are not generally made in the form of Statutory Instruments, but are instead published or notified to the affected bodies as the Minister sees fit.
Examples of such Directions include:
However some Directions are published by Statutory Instrument because they have a wider application or constitutional relevance. Examples include: