Statutory Instruments (UK)

These are instruments made under authority contained in Acts of the UK Parliament. There are three main types of Statutory Instrument. They are:

‘Orders’
‘Regulations’
‘Rules’

However, there is no limit imposed on the descriptions that may be given to Statutory Instruments. Other examples include ‘Scheme’, ‘Direction’ and ‘Declaration’. Different types of instruments serve different functions, but they all have the same legislative force.

Welsh Statutory Instruments and the Orders in Council made under the Northern Ireland Acts are included in the same numbering sequence as UK Statutory Instruments. They are distinguished within that sequence by a subsidiary number in brackets after the S.I. number (e.g. “(W. 22)”, “(N.I. 15)”, etc.). Scottish Statutory Instruments and Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland have their own separate numbering sequences.

Statutory Instruments made from 1991 onwards are held on SLD but are not revised.

Prior to 1948, when the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 came into force, the equivalent instruments were known as ‘Statutory Rules and Orders’.