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

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WISER Social SciencesGovernment
PublicationsAn introduction to Parliamentary
and non-Parliamentary publications. Both print
and electronic sources of information will be
examined.

• Hannah Chandler Angela Carritt

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Overview

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

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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
• Legislatures
• Central government departments
• Courts and other judicial bodies
• Any organisation set up by and maintaining links
  with an official body
• Organisations whose members belong to one of the
  above to include international intergovernmental
  orgs.

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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

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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

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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 1995/1996-
• http//www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmsid.
  htm

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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

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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, 1688-1995 http//www.bopcris.ac.uk/
• BOPCAS, 1995- http//www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopcas/
• UKOP, 1980- via OxLIP or OP website
• House of Commons Parliamentary Papers on CD Rom
  available through OxLIP or OP website
• UK Parliament http//www.parliament.uk
• POLIS 1997- http//www.polis.parliament.uk/
• Parlianet 1979- http//www.parlianet.com/

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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

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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 16th, 17th, 19th centuries
  available online at http//www.british-history.ac.
  uk/
• Jisc project to digitise 18th C official papers
  July 2006 gthttp//www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?namedi
  gitisation_home
• Indexes
• Annual index to Journals of the House of Commons
• Earlier volumes of the Journals are indexed in
  Hansard's Catalogue of Parliamentary
  Reports...1696-1834

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Parliamentary Debates - Hansard

• Verbatim record of proceedings of both houses
  1808-
• 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 Library _at_ CW UK
• Full set up to 1990 Upper Camera
• Parliament web site (http//www.parliament.uk)
• 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

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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 (http//www.parlianet.com/)
• Indexes Hansard 1997-
• Requires an Athens ID
• Search Polis (http//www.polis.parliament.uk/)
• Indexes Hansard 1997-
• For recent items use the Weekly Information
  Bulletin
• Law Library CW UK 300 H36
• Online - Parliamentary Publications and
  Archives on the Parliament web site

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• 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

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Choose Commons or Lords
Daily issues
Sessional volumes
Indexes to bound volume but does not include
sessional index
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• Parlianet indexes
• Parliamentary publications
• Parliamentary proceedings (including Hansard)
• Deposited papers (including many consultation
  papers)
• Library research papers
• Press notices and circulars
• 1979-
• Parliamentary questions 1997-
• Full bibliographic information
• Links to full text when available (but often not
  working)

Sample search on Parlianet
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Sample search on Parlianet
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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 http//www.parliament.uk/docum
  ents/upload/l06.pdf

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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 gt Standing Committees gt Standing
  Committee Debates on Bills gt Choose session and
  then appropriate bill
• UKOP indexes standing committee debates (put
  standing committee in the issuing body field)

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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 1978 1978 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

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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

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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
• Halsburys 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
• Halsburys Is it in force?
• In force information for statues passed in the
  last 25 years

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Local and Personal Acts in Print

• Large collection in the Law Library CW UK 11
• Index to Local and Personal Acts 1801-1947
• Index to the Local and Personal Acts 1850-1995 CW
  UK 80 I38c
• Chronological Table of Local Legislation 1797-1997

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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)
• Halsburys 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

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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

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Legislation online free resources

• OPSI web site (http//www.opsi.gov.uk/legislation)
  Full text of
• Public and General Acts 1988-
• Local Acts 1991-
• Statutory Instruments 1987-
• All legislation as enacted (i.e. without
  amendments and repeals)
• Bailii (http//www.bailii.org)
• Information is drawn from OPSI (coverage the
  same)

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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

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• Paper format

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• Web version of the Good Friday Agreement

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Searching for non parliamentary papers

• Prior to 1980 OLIS (for old records use the aw
  tw search options)
• COPAC http//copac.ac.uk/
• OPACs of other libraries
• HMSO/TSO annual catalogues
• UKOP from 1980-
• BOPCAS
• Websites of the government departments themselves

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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. 1900-
• Reprints of parliamentary papers by subject
• House of Commons sessional papers from the 18th
  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

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Useful URLs

• Official Papers web site - http//www.bodley.ox.ac
  .uk/dept/readerserv/official/
• Bodleian Law Library http//www.ouls.ox.ac.uk/la
  w
• Hannah Chandler (hannah.chandler_at_bodley.ox.ac.uk)
• Angela Carritt (angela.carritt_at_bodley.ox.ac.uk)