Guidance is a term used predominantly in three contexts: (1) statutory guidance, (2) judicial, common law or ‘gap’ guidance, (3) other judicially approved guidance.

• Statutory guidance is only slightly lower than a statutory instrument in terms of legislation. It is formal guidance delegated to be made by a Secretary of State (ie his or her staff) to deal with a particular aspect of work to be carried out by their department (eg Borders Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 s 55(3); Children Act 2004 s 11(4)). It is not subject to approval by Parliament as a statutory instrument. Such guidance may go through various versions over time.
• Judicial guidance (or ‘gap’ guidance) is set out law reports. It provide examples of where High Court and higher courts judges have set out how the law or eg practice directions should be applied to supplement what is already summarised by the law (eg preparation of a written statement in civil and family proceedings where English is not a witness’s first language: NN v ZZ [2013] EWHC 2261 (Fam), [2016] 4 WLR 9, per Peter Jackson J).
• Judicially approved external guidance, eg on Judges meeting children in family proceedings (the Family Justice Council, April 2010); or as to the “forensic usefulness” of NSPCC guidance (‘Criminal exploitation and gangs’) per Hayden J in S v F [2025] EWHC 439 (Fam) (27 February 2025).