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Guidance on devolution 

This page sets out an introduction to devolution for Whitehall Civil Servants. For these purposes, ‘devolution’ means power passed to the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but does not cover local or regional devolution, including London. 

In addition to the links to more comprehensive guidance found throughout, more extensive technical detail can be found in the sixteen Devolution Guidance Notes (DGNs). 

In this section you will find some basic guidance on:

• What is devolution?
• Why is devolution important?
• Which responsibilities are devolved?
• When should you think of devolution?
• Who is involved in devolution?
• How are the devolved administrations funded?

You will find some short specific guidance tailored to your role if you are:

• In a bill team 
• In a policy team 
• In a Minister's Private Office
• In a press office

Also available is some more detailed guidance on:

• Taking proper account of devolution when legislating (material prepared by the Cabinet Office's Legislation Secretariat)
• The three devolution settlements

A glossary of frequently-used terms in relation to devolution is also available, and details of who you can contact for further assistance can be found on our contact pages.