34.This section empowers the Scottish Ministers to issue statutory guidance to education authorities in relation to their functions under sections 3 to 8. The Secretary of State previously issued guidance from time to time but this was non-statutory guidance. The education authorities are not under an absolute duty to comply with the guidance but must have regard to it. They could still be open to challenge for not following the guidance if it was shown that they acted wholly unreasonably in doing so.
The Act Guidance Section 13 – Guidance to education authorities : raising standards and delegation schemes