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Statutes may empower Ministers or government officials to make orders or regulations; this power is included in the tax legislation. Powers (known as Henry VIII powers) can even be given to make orders or regulations which amend certain provisions in statutes. The advantages of such delegated legislation is that the original Act is less encumbered with detail and that orders or regulations can be made speedily without the formality of passing another Act. The disadvantage is that orders and regulations are not subject to the same Parliamentary scrutiny as an Act.

In most cases orders and regulations must be made by statutory instrument. Statutory instruments are numbered serially (SI year/number) each year; there are over 3,000 a year. Instruments are subject to the Statutory Instruments Act 1946.

Sometimes a consolidated instrument is issued which revokes the instruments it consolidates. Most statutory instruments or drafts thereof which deal with taxation must be laid before the House of Commons only and are considered by the Commons Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. Those that are laid before both Houses of Parliament