WISER: Social Sciences Government Publications An introduction to Parliamentary and non-Parliamentary publications. Both print and electronic sources of information will be examined. Hannah Chandler & Angela Carritt

Overview What is an official paper? Parliamentary papers Parliamentary proceedings Acts and Statutory Instruments Non Parliamentary Papers Where to find printed collections

What are Official Papers? Put simply ‘an official publication is any item issued by an organisation that is an official body and available to an audience wider than that body’. 5 types of organisations recognised 1.Legislatures 2.Central government departments 3.Courts and other judicial bodies 4.Any organisation set up by and maintaining links with an official body 5.Organisations whose members belong to one of the above to include international intergovernmental orgs.

Exist on three levels International - international intergovernmental bodies, such as the United Nations and the International Labour Organisation National – individual state (or country) or federation of states, Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament Subnational - a province, state or region, South East England Development Agency

Parliamentary Papers There are five main classes of Parliamentary Papers which date from 1801 to the present day. Organised by session, they usually run from November to November. House of Commons Papers (also known as sessional papers) House of Commons Bills Command Papers (main types: treaties, white papers which are govt. proposals for legislation, reports of Royal Commissions, govt replies to select committees and annual reports) House of Lords Papers House of Lords Bills

Sessional Information Digest Dates of parliamentary sessions Complete list of bills and Acts before Parliament, their stages and who sponsored it. Lists local and general Acts receiving royal assent Lists committees and subject list to white papers, green papers and consultation documents From 1995/ m

Bills Public Bills – Promoted by Government Private Bill –Not an official paper. Printed by the Petitioner not Parliament. –Promoted by organisations (local authorities, private companies) outside the House to obtain power in conflict with or in excess of the Law. –Presented to Parliament on or before 27th Nov. each year. Private Members’ Bill –Bills initiated by Private Members’ backbenchers rather than Government. –Several ways of introducing Bills. –Ballots, Ten Minute Rule Bill, Presentation Bills and Bills brought from the House of Lords. –2003/2004 session of the 38 Bills receiving Royal Assent, 5 were introduced by backbench members

Looking for Parliamentary Papers They are not comprehensively catalogued so very few appear on OLIS. The parliamentary Papers are made up of over 250,000 documents. BOPCRIS, BOPCAS, UKOP, via OxLIP or OP website House of Commons Parliamentary Papers on CD Rom available through OxLIP or OP website UK Parliament POLIS Parlianet

Parliamentary Proceedings Documentary record of the work of the Houses of Parliament Journal of the House of Commons & Journal of the House of Lords Hansard Standing committee debates

Journal of the House of Commons & House of Lords Daily record of the “proceedings” of the Commons and Lords Record “what happened” (decisions and actions) rather than “what was said” (debates) –Voting records –Progress of bills –Papers –Lists of members appointed to committees –Daily record of members present Printed volumes available in Official Papers Current journals are not available online Some volumes from the 16 th, 17 th, 19th centuries available online at Jisc project to digitise 18 th C official papers – July 2006 > Indexes –Annual index to Journals of the House of Commons –Earlier volumes of the Journals are indexed in Hansard's Catalogue of Parliamentary Reports

Parliamentary Debates - Hansard Verbatim record of proceedings of both houses Published daily Includes debates, written/oral questions, records of votes Since 1909 separate series for Commons and Lords Hard copy –Full set in the Law CW UK –Full set up to 1990 Upper Camera Parliament web site ( –Commons 1988/89- Lords 1994/95- –Split into daily, weekly, sessional volumes and indexes in the same way as the hard copy –Can be searched using “Advanced Search”

Searching Hansard Search the annual sessional indexes –Print (shelved at the end of the sessional volumes) –Electronic (sessional index NOT available. Indexes to individual volumes under “Hansard” on the parliament web site) Use “Advanced Search” on the parliament web site Search Parlianet ( –Indexes Hansard –Requires an Athens ID Search Polis ( –Indexes Hansard For recent items use the Weekly Information Bulletin –Law Library CW UK 300 H36 –Online - “Parliamentary Publications and Archives” on the Parliament web site

e.g. a page from the Sessional Index Abbreviations  Wh – debates in Westminster hall  W – written questions (found at the back of the volume or issue) Relating to bills  1R - first reading  2R - second reading  COM – committee stage  Rep – report stage  3R – third reading  Res – resolution  Amendt(s) - amendments  * matter taken formally without debate or division

Daily issues Sessional volumes Indexes to bound volume but does not include sessional index Choose Commons or Lords

Sample search on “Parlianet” Parlianet indexes Parliamentary publications Parliamentary proceedings (including Hansard) Deposited papers (including many consultation papers) Library research papers Press notices and circulars Parliamentary questions Full bibliographic information Links to full text when available (but often not working)

Sample search on “Parlianet”

Standing committees After the second reading of a bill it is usually considered in detail by a standing committee (the “committee stage”) Debates the bill clause by clause Up to 10 standing committee each session (A-H + 2 for Scotland) More information at

Standing Committees Debates Print - Official Reports of Standing Committees –Law Library CW UK 5 –1944- –Organised by session and within each session by committee (A-H) and then by date –To find out which committee is discussing a particular bill use Weekly Information Bulletin / Sessional Information Digest Parliament web site has full text of the debates –1997/98- –Includes list of members –Committees > Standing Committees > Standing Committee Debates on Bills > Choose session and then appropriate bill UKOP indexes standing committee debates (put standing committee in the “issuing body” field)

Legislation: Acts Acts a.k.a Public General Acts or Statutes –Once a bill has received the royal assent it is an Act –Apply to the whole population or a substantial part of it –Do not necessarily come into force immediately –Regularly amended and repealed Local and personal Acts –Only affect a particular area, body or group of individuals How to distinguish Public General, Local & Personal Acts –Public and General - chapter number in arabic numerals (e.g. Theft Act c. 31) –Local - chapter number in roman numerals (e.g. Ipswitch Market Act 2006 c. iii) –Personal Acts – chapter number in arabic number but in italics

Legislation: Statutory Instruments a.k.a secondary or delegated legislation, SIs Do not go before parliament (but are sometimes considered in Standing Committees) Usually made by a government minister under the authority of an act (enabling legislation) SIs –fill in the details in legislation –often rules, regulations –commencement orders –Implementation of EU legislation

Public General Acts in print Current Law Statutes Annotated –Text of the statute as enacted –Does not include any information about repeals or amendments –Detailed background notes and explanations Halsbury’s Statutes –Text of the statute as it currently stands (i.e. including all repeals and amendments) –Updated by “Cumulative Supplement” and loose leaf “Noter up” to ensure currency –Footnotes include definitions, notes re amending legislation, cases discussing the legislation Halsbury’s “Is it in force?” –In force information for statues passed in the last 25 years

Local and Personal Acts in Print Large collection in the Law Library CW UK 11 Index to Local and Personal Acts Index to the Local and Personal Acts CW UK 80 I38c Chronological Table of Local Legislation

Statutory Instruments in print Statutory Instruments (published by HMSO/OPSI) –CW UK 90 S797.2 –Full text of all Sis as enacted (i.e. without repeals and amendments) Halsbury’s Statutory Instruments –CW UK 90 S 797 4c –Up to date information on every SI of “general application” in England and Wales –Includes amendments and repeals –Full text of some Sis, summary of others –Kept up to date by “Cumulative Supplement” and “Noter up”

Acts and SIs online Justis (follow links from Oxlip) –Full text of all statues and SIs as enacted (i.e. without amendments and repeals) –Requires an Athens ID Lexis Nexis Butterworths and Westlaw (follow links from Oxlip) –Text of all statutes as they currently stand (i.e. including all repeals and amendments) –Notes include definitions, cases discussing the legislation and commentary –Requires an Athens ID

Legislation online: free resources OPSI web site ( Full text of: –Public and General Acts –Local Acts –Statutory Instruments –All legislation as enacted (i.e. without amendments and repeals) Bailii ( –Information is drawn from OPSI (coverage the same)

Non parliamentary papers Can be published by the Stationery Office, the government departments themselves or the publishing can be contracted out to commercial publishers. Web Publishing Issues URLs not static Documents can be revised/updated/altered with no bibliographic reference on the document. Print and electronic format may appear very different unless in PDF format May be little bibliographic information on the document Web documents not systematically being deposited at the legal Deposit Libraries

Paper format

Web version of the Good Friday Agreement

Searching for non parliamentary papers Prior to 1980 OLIS (for old records use the aw= tw= search options) COPAC OPACs of other libraries HMSO/TSO annual catalogues UKOP – from BOPCAS Websites of the government departments themselves

Where to find it in print Official Papers (Lower Camera) Full set of parliamentary papers Full set of public acts House of Lords and Commons Journals Publications of government departments c Reprints of parliamentary papers by subject House of Commons sessional papers from the 18 th century Bodleian Law Library Full set of Hansard Standing committee debates Full set of Public Acts and SIs Large collection of local and personal acts

Useful URLs Official Papers web site - Bodleian Law Library – Hannah Chandler Angela Carritt