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Debates
Debates are the records of parliamentary speeches. They are the official record of things actually said in Parliament, verbatim and in the first person. Until the early twentieth-century the published Debates were unofficial and often based on secondary reports such as newspaper articles. The collections of the Debates are often referred to as Hansard's, after Thomas Curson Hansard, who took over the publishing of the debates in 1806. The publishing of the debates stayed in the Hansard family until 1909 when the task was appointed to the Stationary Office. Beginning in 1909 the House of Commons and Lords Debates were separated. Prior to 1909 the two houses of Parliament jointly published their debates.
Sessional papers
These are the working documents of each session of Parliament including bills, reports from committees, State Papers, papers presented by Royal Commissions or by Government departments, and statements of Governmental policy. Collected sets of Sessional Papers are sometimes referred to as Blue Books, both terms are sometimes used in reference to Parliamentary Papers in their entirety, but the Sessional Papers are actually only a part of the Parliamentary Papers, so this alternate reference is misleading. It is best to take the term Sessional Papers in its most specific capacity to avoid confusion. They include Bills, Parliamentary Committee reports and proceedings, and Command Papers. The following is a brief list of titles and descriptions of the most common types of documents you will find in the Sessional Papers. The House of Commons Sessional Papers and House of Lords Papers take the same organizational form. Because the two Houses pass documents from one to the other much of the House of Lords papers is included in the House of Commons collections. However, what is not included is separately collected in the House of Lords Papers. The House of Commons Sessional Papers consist of three series: House of Commons Bills, House of Commons Papers, and the Command Papers. These three series of papers are each organized into four classes, listed below.
1) public bills
A Bill is a proposal for a new law which is debated by Parliament. A Bill becomes an Act when it has received Royal Assent. A Bill may be introduced into either House, with the exception of Money Bills which the Lords cannot initiate or amend.
The procedure of passing a Public Bill is similar in both Houses. The stages are: first reading; second reading; committee stage; report stage; third reading; passage through the House of Lords; Royal Assent.
Public Bills include all bills introduced into the House of Commons by a Member or brought from the House of Lords. In contrast, a private bill would be one introduced by an individual or an organization
2)committee reports
A lot of the work of the House of Commons and the House of Lords is done by committees which are usually made up of relatively small numbers of MPs or Peers. In such committees issues can be reviewed and discussed in detail. There are several types of committee including Standing Committees, Select Committees, Joint Select Committees, and Grand Committees. Committee Reports include:
Standing committee debates
A Standing Committee is a committee set up by the House of Commons to consider the details of a particular Bill. All Bills other than Money Bills are automatically sent to a Standing Committee following their second reading unless they are committed to a Committee of the Whole House. These are the minutes of their consideration of the Bills and any amendments they add or suggest. Although they are called standing committees which suggests that they are permanent committees, they only last for the duration of the Bill concerned.
Reports of select committees or house papers
In the House of Commons select committees look at the work of Government Departments. In the House of Lords they investigate issues such as science and technology, the economy and the European Union. Occasionally a committee will form a sub committee to look at one issue in greater depth. A number of Select Committees assist with the domestic responsibilities of the House and are generally referred to as Domestic Committees. These are the reports from select committees inside the House providing information to members.
Joint Committees consist of Members from both Houses. Grand Committees are three in number representing the interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
3) reports from commissioners
A Royal Commission is a selected group of people appointed by the Government to investigate a matter of important public concern and to make recommendations on any actions to be taken. Often the persons are considered to be experts on the subject. These reports often reflect at least a year of investigation, some producing annual reports.
4) accounts and papers
These include the Command Papers, state papers, policy papers, annual reports, reports of Royal Commissions, tribunals and commissions of inquiry, departmental committees, and statistical reports.
Command paper
A Command Paper is the collective name given to different types of papers prepared by the Government and presented to Parliament. The name Command Paper comes from the fact that these papers are presented to Parliament with the words“presented to Parliament by command of His/Her Majesty”.
White paper
White Papers are documents produced by the Government setting out details of future policy on a particular subject. A White Paper will often be the basis for a Bill to be put before Parliament. The White Paper allows the Government an opportunity to gather feedback before it formally presents the policies as a Bill.
Green paper
Green papers are consultation documents produced by the Government. Often when a Government Department is considering introducing a new law, it will put together a discussion document called a Green Paper. The aim of this document is to allow people both inside and outside Parliament to debate the subject and give the department feedback on its suggestions.
Returns
Returns are reports from Governmental departments, usually of a statistical nature.
Act papers
Act Papers required by an Act of Parliament to be laid before the House for consideration.
Source:
OpenStax, Conducting research with the british parliamentary papers. OpenStax CNX. Jun 12, 2006 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10289/1.3
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