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British Parliamentary Papers

Full Text Resources

The British Parliament is the legislative body of Government in the United Kingdom. It has two chambers: the House of Lords, where members are appointed by past or current governments, and the House of Commons, a democratically elected chamber with elections to it held at least every 5 years. The Parliamentary Papers are the record of Parliamentary deliberations in the form of bills, reports, minutes, committee proceedings, and appropriations.

The Library’s holdings are listed in Roger. Many items are currently housed in off-site storage but are available to request via Roger. Other items may be available at other UC campus libraries and are available for request through Melvyl. This guide provides location information for most items available at UC San Diego or through online databases to which UCSD subscribes.

Many Parliamentary materials are now available online, either for free or in commercial databases. Check these first.

Proceedings: Debates

The British Library explains that “history of the reporting of debates in Parliament is long and complex. Parliament guards its privacy fiercely and for a long time it was forbidden to report what was said within the House. Nevertheless from the seventeenth century some debates appeared, compiled in secret and published at considerable risk. Often only the record of a single debate was issued but gradually more extensive reporting occurred.”

For most purposes it is unnecessary to consult these early debates, as William Cobbett included most of them in his Parliamentary history of England…to the Year 1803. In 1811 Cobbett was bought out by T.C. Hansard who reprinted Cobbett’s volumes and continued to report current debates. The debates became known as Hansard’s Parliamentary Debates and the term Hansard has been used for the debates to the present day, although the firm ceased to be connected with the project in 1892.

Before 1909, the publications were often compiled from secondary sources and often compiled by individuals. Some publications covered both Houses; others covered only one House or the other. After 1909, the debates were published by the government, in separate volumes for the House of Lords and the House of Commons, and were give the term “Official Report.”

Proceedings: Journals

The Journals are the official record of what was done in Parliament. They outline proceedings (but not the actual words spoken in session) including records of bills read and committed, motions submitted, resolutions and orders made, reports and papers received, lists of members appointed to committees, etc. Since the House of Lords do not refer bills to standing committee as the House of Commons does, the Lords Journals tend to give more information regarding amendments and results of debates.

Sessional Papers and Indexes to Sessional Papers

Sessional Papers are the papers presented to Parliament: bills, reports of committees, papers presented by Royal Commissions and government departments, and “accounts and papers,” which include treaties, international agreements, and statistics.

Command papers are a distinct category of the Sessional Papers that include important documents on government policy (“white papers”), reports of studies or programs, or other reports presented by government departments to Parliament.

Sessional Papers & Committee Publications

Dates CoveredTitleVolumesFormatLocation
Index
1696-1834
Hansard’s Catalogue and Breviate of Parliamentary Papers, 1696-1834IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West J301 .K62 1953
GB Docs, Geisel Floor2 West X12 General Index  v.1 
1715-1800House of Commons Sessional Papers of the Eighteenth CenturyIntro & ListPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West J301 .K625 1975
v. 1-145PrintGB Docs, Geisel Floor2 West X11 C65
1715-1801Reports from Committees of the House of Commons…v. 1Online (UCSD)Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
v. 4Online (UCSD)Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO)
pre-1801various reports included in Journals of the House of Commons
Early 1800svarious reports, including command papers, printed as appendices to Journals of the House of Commons
1801-1900House of Commons Parliamentary Papers: the 19th Century [UCSD Only]
A detailed primary source for the United Kingdom, its colonies and the wider world. Searchable full text; displays page images with tables, maps, illustrations. Includes 4.2 million pages of documents such as bills, reports of committees, papers presented by Royal Commissions and government departments, treaties and international agreements, command papers, and statistics.
Online (UCSD)House of Commons Parliamentary Papers: the 19th Century
1801-1900Irish University Press Series of British Parliamentary Papers.
Reprints of the most significant 19th century Parliamentary Papers, arranged by subject/committee
v. 1-1000PrintGB Docs, Geisel Floor2 West X12 General Index
Index
1801-1995
BOPCRIS: British Official Publications Collaborative Reader Information Service (Great Britain Govt)
The BOPCRIS partner collections have more or less complete holdings of Parliamentary papers and extensive collections of non-parliamentary/non-HMSO material. BOPCRIS will focus on around 23,000 key (from a total of approximately 250,000) documents, originally selected for inclusion in the internationally known hard-copy Ford Select Lists and Breviates. A limited number are available as full text. Currently indexes papers from 1801 to 1995.
Online (Free)http://www.bopcris.ac.uk/bopcris/digbib/home
Index
1801-1899
Checklist of British Parliamentary Papers in the Irish University Press 1000-volume seriesIndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West DA30 .I76 1972
Index
1801-1900
Subject Catalogue of the House of Commons Parliamentary Papers, 1801-1900 (Cockton)v. 1-5PrintOffsite (SRLF) Request with Melvyl
Index
1812-1911
Guide to the Principal Parliamentary Papers Relating to the Dominions, 1812-1911.IndexPrintOffsite (SRLF) Request with Melvyl
Index
1833-1899
Select List of British Parliamentary Papers, 1833-1899IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West J301 .M3 1969 
Index
1900-1949
General Index to the Bills, Reports and Papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons…IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West J301 .K5 1960
Index
1900-1968
Serial Publications in the British Parliamentary Papers, 1900-1968IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West Z2009 .R63 
Index
1955-1964
Select List of British Parliamentary Papers, 1955-1964IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West J301 .M32 
Index
1959-1969
General Alphabetical Index to the Bills, Reports and Papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons…IndexPrint
1975-2003House of Commons Parliamentary Papers. H.C.H.C. (varies)MicroficheOffsite (SRLF) Micro XX 1423 X150
1986-2003Great Britain House of Lords Sessional Papers. H.L.H.L. (varies)MicroficheOffsite (SRLF) Micro XX 1423 X151
1990s- present (varies)Select Committee Publications and Reports (both Houses)Online (Free)www.parliament.uk

Command Papers

Dates CoveredTitleVolumesFormatLocation
1801-1900House of Commons Parliamentary Papers: the 19th Century [UCSD Only]
A detailed primary source for the United Kingdom, its colonies and the wider world. Searchable full text; displays page images with tables, maps, illustrations. Includes 4.2 million pages of documents such as bills, reports of committees, papers presented by Royal Commissions and government departments, treaties and international agreements, command papers, and statistics.
Online (UCSD)House of Commons Parliamentary Papers: the 19th Century
Index
1833-1962
A numerical finding list of British command papers published 1833-1961/62 (Di Roma and Rosenthal)IndexPrintReference, Geisel Floor2 West Z2009 .D5 1967
1870-1899Command Papers
C. (varies)PrintCall number depends on subject of papers. Check Roger by title or C. number.
1900-1918Cd. (varies)PrintCall number depends on subject of papers. Check Roger by title or Cd. number.
1919-1956Cmd. (varies)PrintCall number depends on subject of papers. Check Roger by title or Cmd. number.
1956-1986Cmnd. (varies)PrintCall number depends on subject of papers. Check Roger by title or Cmnd. number.
1982-1985Cmnd. 7461-9927MicroficheOffsite (SRLF) XX 1423 X114 
1986-2003Cm. 1-6062MicroficheOffsite (SRLF) XX 1423 X114
1986-Cm. (varies)PrintCall number depends on subject of papers. Check Roger by title or Cm. number.
1994-2005Online (Free)http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/
2005-presentOnline (Free)http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/

Bills & Acts

Bills are pieces of proposed legislation. Bills may also be located within the Sessional Papers and typically fall first in the arrangement of the papers of each session. Acts are bills that have passed through Parliament, received Royal Assent, and become law.

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