Update on progress made in implementing the May 2004 Council Resolution on guidance throughout life

This report provides an update on progress in the UK in implementing the 2004 Council Resolution on guidance. In the UK, the specific term ‘guidance’ is normally reserved to describe the more intensive support element of a broader range of services collectively referred to as ‘information, advice and guidance’ (IAG). These services are highly developed across the whole of the UK and are widely available to those in education, in the labour market and in a variety of community settings. However, there are many differences and similarities in the arrangements for the delivery of IAG services across the four constituent countries of the UK: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. These arrangements partly reflect differences of geography, culture, complexity and relative population sizes; increasingly, they are also linked to differences in the legal and constitutional responsibilities that apply.