Guide to Parliamentary Papers and other British Government Publications
Contents
- Introduction
- Parliamentary Papers
- Non-Parliamentary Publications
- Non-TSO Publications
- Tracing Government Publications in the Library
- Glossary
1. Introduction
British government publishing comprises the output of The Stationery Office (TSO) - prior to 1999 Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) - and the material published directly by government departments and agencies. Note that TSO now accounts for less than half of all government publishing.
Within TSO, a distinction is made between Parliamentary Publications, that is, those that are connected with the work of Parliament, and Non-Parliamentary Publications - those that are not considered necessary for the day-to-day work of Parliament.
This guide describes the arrangement of British government publications in the Frewen Library, and draws attention to appropriate websites, since much government publishing is now also done via the Internet.
2. Parliamentary Papers
Since 1974, the Library has had a standing order for all the main series of Parliamentary Papers listed below so they are received automatically shortly after publication. They are housed in a separate Parliamentary Papers Collection on the first floor. Papers acquired selectively before that date are also held there. In addition, the Library has a set of the Irish Universities Press reprint series of the most important nineteenth-century papers, collected into 32 subject areas.
Important Note: Parliamentary Papers are listed in the Library catalogue only when extra copies are purchased and added to the ordinary bookstock. The result of this policy is that we are quite likely to have in stock important government publications which you need, but you will not find them by using our catalogue. You must use the other tools described below.
The main series are listed below in the order in which you will find them in the Parliamentary Papers Collection.
2.1 House of Commons Papers
These include reports of Select Committees, annual reports of, e.g., nationalised industries and quangos. They are numbered serially within parliamentary sessions (e.g. HCP 135 1996-97), and arranged on the shelves in the same way, so to locate a particular paper, you need its date and individual number. These can be found from TSO/HMSO catalogues (see section 5).
Some papers are now on the Internet, and can be viewed at:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/menu/browseDocuments.htm
2.2 House of Commons Bills
Bills are drafts of proposed Acts of Parliament. They are printed after their first reading (in either House). They have a number; the number is preceded by the word Bill in Commons Bills, and contained within curved brackets in Lords Bills. Commons Bills are shelved by session date and then by number. These can again be found from TSO/HMSO catalogues (see section 5).
Public bills currently before Parliament which are available in full text on the Internet can be accessed at:
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/
A complete list of public bills introduced in Parliament in the current session, together with information about their progress through Parliament, can be found in the Weekly Information Bulletin and accessed at:
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm/cmwib.htm
2.3 Command Papers
These include White Papers, Royal Commission reports, reports of Tribunals and Committees of Inquiry, annual reports of some government departments and quangos, State Papers, Competition Commission (formerly Monopolies and Mergers Commission) reports, etc. They are usually referred to or cited by their number, preceded by an abbreviation for the word `Command'.
There have been five series to date:
| C.1- C.955 | 1870-1899 |
| Cd.1- Cd.9239 | 1900-1918 |
| Cmd.1- Cmd.9889 | 1919-1956 |
| Cmnd.1- Cmnd.9927 | 1956-1986 |
| Cm.1- | 1986 - |
Their arrangement in the Parliamentary Papers Collection follows this pattern. They are indexed in TSO/HMSO catalogues (see section 5).
Selected UK Command Papers, including White Papers and Green Papers, can be accessed at:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/menu/browseDocuments.htm
2.4 House of Lords Papers and Bills
This series comprises mainly Bills and amendments to Bills, and reports of Lords' Select Committees. They are numbered serially within each session, and are arranged in this way on the shelves. They are indexed in TSO/HMSO catalogues (see section 5).
2.5 Debates
Verbatim accounts of the debates and proceedings of both Houses of Parliament are published under the title `Hansard'. The Library has the Commons debates from 1946 and the Lords from 1959 in hard copy, both series up to 2000. More recent debates are accessible via the Portia Subject Directory (the University Library's Web information service) or at:
http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm/cmhansrd.htm
for the House of Commons (currently 1988-89 session onwards)
http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/lords/
for the House of Lords currently from June 1996 onwards)
2.6 Acts of Parliament
These divide into three types: Public General Acts, Local Acts and Personal Acts.
Local and Personal acts are relatively infrequent and are restricted to particular areas or individuals. Public General Acts are assigned a Chapter number, which identifies them within a calendar year. The Library receives them as published, and they are eventually included in bound annual volumes that are kept in the Law Reference Collection at 348.41022GRE. Indexes are provided in these volumes, and there are alphabetical and chronological indexes to statutes from 1235 to date, in separate volumes.
With effect from the first Public General Act of 1988 and the first Local Act of 1991, the full text of all new Public General Acts and all new Local Acts as originally passed by the UK Parliament can be accessed at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga
Printed texts of all current statutes with annotations can also be found in Halsbury's Statutes, (Law Reference Collection 348.41023GRE).
2.7 Statutory Instruments (S.I.s)
These are not Parliamentary Papers, but are mentioned here for convenience. They are housed in the Law Reference Collection at 348.41025GRE. They are regulations, orders, etc., made by Ministers under the authority of a statute. The Library receives them in bound volumes covering a year at a time. The Public Library in the Guildhall Square receives them individually as published. Selected current individual instruments are available in Halsbury's Statutory Instruments (Law Reference Collection 348.42025GRE). Instruments can be traced either by using the indexes in the bound volumes or in Halsbury's. With effect from the first printed Statutory Instrument of 1987, all new S.I.s are available in full text on the Internet at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi
Since November 1987 all new draft S.I.s awaiting approval are also published in full text form on the Internet at the same site. They remain on the Web pages until such time as they are superseded by a Statutory Instrument or until they are withdrawn.
S.I.s made by the National Assembly for Wales are available at the following site:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi
while the full text of all printed Scottish Statutory Instruments (S.S.I.s) appears on the Web at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi
2.8 Scottish Parliamentary Publications and Welsh National Assembly Publications
The Library does not take any printed publications from the Scottish Parliament or the National Assembly for Wales, but both institutions have websites with growing numbers of documents available online
For the Scottish Parliament see under Documents at:
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/
For the National Assembly for Wales see under Key Publications at:
http://www.wales.org.uk
3. Non-Parliamentary Publications
These are ordinary books and pamphlets, statistical series, reports, minutes of evidence to Commissions of Inquiry, etc. The Library acquires this material selectively and treats it as ordinary stock, so you must check the catalogue to discover which items are held here. One exception to this rule of selectivity is the Statutory Instruments collection which has already been dealt with in section 2.7.
4. Non-TSO Publications
As mentioned above, less than 50% of British government publishing is done by TSO, and most departments now publish extensively themselves. The Library acquires this material selectively and treats it as ordinary stock. Most major government departments have their own website where at least some of their publications can be found:
- Department of Health
http://www.doh.gov.uk - Department for Education and Skills
http://www.education.gov.uk/ - Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions;
http://www.dft.gov.uk/
Many government websites can be accessed through the library website, Portia, or alternatively by following the links from:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/
Most of the links you will need are currently on the open.gov page page of this site and there is also a search engine allowing you to search over one million government documents from government websites.
5. Tracing Government Publications in the Library
5.1 TSO/HMSO Catalogues
Annual Catalogue of Government Publications
Monthly Catalogue of Government Publications
These list both Parliamentary and Non-Parliamentary publications in separate sequences. Indexes are by subject, author, chairman and brief title. They are shelved at the beginning of the Subject Reference Collection on the First Floor.
5.2 Departmental Lists
Many government departments issue lists of their publications, whether published through TSO/HMSO or not. They are shelved at the beginning of the Subject Reference Collection on the First Floor. However, they are often not very up-to-date, and a search in the department's website will almost always be more beneficial.
5.3 Indexes to Chairmen and Authors
The reports of many government committees, etc., often become popularly known simply by the name of their chairmen, e.g. the Beeching Report. A series of publications at 354.410081… in the Subject Reference Collection on the First Floor enable the full reference to such documents from 1800 to the present to be found.
5.4 Non-HMSO Publications
The library holds a separate `Catalogue of British Official Publications not published by the Stationery Office' (formerly '…not published by HMSO') from 1980 to 1998, shelved at the beginning of the Subject Reference Collection on the First Floor.
5.5 Individual Series
Indexes to individual series such as the Debates, Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments are referred to in the appropriate sections above.
5.6 Library Catalogue
Government publications, whether TSO/HMSO items or not, can be traced in the Library Catalogue by author or by title. The `author' is usually Great Britain, followed by the name of the issuing department, or series. Remember that only extra copies of Parliamentary Papers are listed in the catalogue. All journals issued by government departments held in the Library can also be checked by title or keyword in the electronic catalogue.
5.7 Current Legal Information Database
The BADGER Grey Paper Index which forms part of the Current Legal Information database can also be useful in tracing recent government publications with a legal slant. BADGER indexes press releases, command papers, English, Welsh, Scottish Statutory Instruments and Northern Irish Statutory Rules, Bills, White and Green Papers; abstracts are also included. Current Legal Information is available on campus via Portia. To access Current Legal Information you will need a username and password, which you can obtain from enquiry desk staff.
6. Glossary
- Green Papers
- consultative documents setting out proposals for legislation and inviting comment.
- Hansard
- popular name by which the verbatim accounts of Parliamentary debates are known.
- Royal Commission
- a body set up by Royal Warrant to investigate a particular topic.
- Select Committees
- permanent committees of both the Commons and the Lords to examine the work of the executive or particular government departments.
- Session
- the Parliamentary session normally runs from the beginning of November until approximately some 12 months later.
- Sessional Papers
- of the Commons comprise the Papers, Bills and Command papers. The series House of Lords Papers and Bills constitutes the House of Lords sessional papers.
- White Paper
- a statement of policy indicating the lines along which the Government proposes to legislate, published as a Command paper.
DF/JS 7/2001
