Grounds for ministerial directions, 1990 to 1 May 2025

A stacked bar chart from the Institute for Government showing grounds for ministerial directions since 1990. Around three-quarters of ministerial directions have been on the grounds of value for money, either as a sole criterion or combined with other criteria. Feasibility has been rarely used, and has not been used as a sole criterion for a ministerial direction.
Source: Institute for Government analysis of figures provided by HMT (pre-2013) and GOV.UK reporting of ministerial directions (2014–present).Notes: Requests for ministerial directions can cite multiple criteria. Includes technical directions, which allowed departments to spend money preparing for Brexit before relevant legislation had been passed.Get the dataEmbed Download image
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