Government publications

What are Government publications?

Government publications are documents and information produced by government departments and central government organisations. They include parliamentary publications, legislation, policy documents, discussion documents, statistics and reports.

British government publications are published either by The Stationery Office (TSO) or by the department or organisation itself. Increasingly, documentation is also being made available through official websites.

Government publications for other countries are added to the collection if requested to support a course or research activity.

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What is available and where?

British parliamentary publications

The Library has substantial holdings of British parliamentary publications within the Government Publications section in Compact Store 2, elsewhere in its collections, and electronically. These holdings include:

  • sessional papers (House of Commons bills and papers, House of Lords bills and papers, command papers)
  • parliamentary debates (Hansard)
  • legislation (Acts of Parliament, statutory instruments)

These papers often reflect the flow of legislation, from a consultative document (Green Paper) to an initial statement of government policy (White Paper), a Bill, Debates on the Bill, an Act of Parliament, and the subsequent Delegated Legislation (usually in the form of statutory instruments).

Please note:
  • Most individual items are not listed on the Library Catalogue
  • Items within the Government Publications section are for reference use only and many are provided on microfiche or microcard
  • See More information for details of the collections, including online access

British non-parliamentary publications

Many documents are produced by government departments for use outside the parliamentary context. These may be published by the department or by The Stationery Office (TSO).

Please note:
  • Individual items held by the Library are listed on the Library Catalogue
  • Government department websites are a useful source of information on recent publications

International government publications

Government publications for other countries are added to the collection if requested to support a course or research activity.

Please note:
  • Individual items held by the Library are listed on the Library Catalogue

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British government publications for the historian

There are many British government publications in the collection which are of interest to historians. Before 1921 government publications were not divided into parliamentary and non-parliamentary publications and finding what you need can be complex.

British government publications for the historian provides information on published guides and indexes to early government publications and a listing of what is available in the JB Morrell Library.

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More information