Directions are a form of delegated legislation used in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. An

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

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 A statutory corporation is a government entity created as a statutory body by statute. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they are statutes owned by a government or controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in so ...

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 In many countries, a statutory instrument is a form of delegated legislation. United Kingdom Statutory instruments are the principal form of delegated or secondary legislation in the United Kingdom. National government Statutory instrumen ...

, but are instead published or notified to the affected bodies as the Minister sees fit. Examples of such Directions include: * Directions given by the Secretary of State for Health to the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, * Directions given the Secretrary of State for Transport to the

Strategic Rail Authority The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom set up under the Transport Act 2000 to provide strategic direction for the railway industry. Its motto was 'Britain's railway, properly delivered'. I ...

, * Directions given by the

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

to public bodies on their financial and accounting procedures.HM Treasury Accounts Directions 2007/2008
retrieved 26 April 2008 However some Directions are published by Statutory Instrument because they have a wider application or constitutional relevance. Examples include:
The Wafer Scottish Seal Directions 1999
under which the

First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland ( sco, heid meinister o Scotland; gd, prìomh mhinistear na h-Alba ) is the head of the Scottish Government and keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The first minister chair ...

gives instructions concerning the Great Seal of Scotland,
The Traffic Signs General Directions 2002
which give instructions to highways authorities about road signs.

References

Law of the United Kingdom {{UK-law-stub