The Queen's Speech
A piece of new legislation will be first mentioned (after party
manifestos) in the annual speech made by the Queen when she
officially opens Parliament for its new session (usually in
November).
Green Papers, White Papers: The Consultative Process
After a piece of legislation is announced in the Queen's Speech
the next stage is to embark on a round of consultation. The
Government do this by publishing Green and White Papers.
'Green Papers' are issued by the Government to interested parties
when they are planning to institute a new piece of legislation and
want comments. Some Green Papers are published by The Stationery
Office but the majority are published by the Government department
responsible.
Once all the comments have been taken into consideration, the next
stage in the process is to publish a policy document or 'White
Paper'. These are a more firm statement of the Government's plans,
although comments are still sought. White Papers are always
published by the Stationery Office in a series known as 'Command
Papers'.
The County Central Library has a large stock of both Green and
White Papers, which can be accessed through our catalogue. All are
for reference only, but arrangements can be made for them to be
viewed at your local library.
Bills
Bills are draft Acts of Parliament, which pass through a complex
series of stages, during which they are examined and debated in
both Houses of Parliament. Once these stages are completed, the
Bill receives the Royal Assent and becomes an Act of
Parliament.
Acts
Acts of Parliament constitute a large proportion of the law of
the United Kingdom, along with Statutory Instruments, Common Law
and increasingly, European legislation.
The County Central Library has a large collection of Acts in stock.
Current Acts are received soon after publication and are filed by
their title. Annual volumes, entitled 'Public and General Acts' are
published after a two or three year delay, replacing the individual
Acts which are then discarded, apart from Acts of particular note
which are added to our lending collection.
Public and General Acts 1801-1922 are available on microfiche, and
from 1929 onwards in bound volumes. The publication 'Statutes at
Large', including Acts from 1225-1801, is also in stock.
Statutory Instruments
When an Act of Parliament is published it is not immediately 'In
Force'. A date of commencement will be stated in the Act, on which
date it will come into force. This can happen whole or in part,
depending on the size and complexity of the individual Act.
For each Act a Commencement Order will be issued, and these are
published as Statutory Instruments. These documents also include
the rules and regulations needed to implement the Act. European
Community Legislation enacted in the UK is done so by Statutory
Instrument.
The County Central Library has Statutory Instruments from 1946 to
the present.
House of Commons and House of Lords Papers
House of Commons and House of Lords papers include papers which
arise out of the deliberations of Parliament, or which are needed
for its work. They include the reports, evidence and minutes of
proceedings of Government select committees.
The annual reports of official bodies, such as Oftel, are also
published as House of Commons/House of Lords papers.
The County Central Library receives all House of Commons and House
of Lords papers. Those of particular interest are added to our
stock, and the rest are filed numerically in a four to five year
back file.
Circulars
Departmental Circulars are used by the Government to announce
policy and how it is to be put into effect.
The County Central Library has files of the following
circulars:
Department of the Environment (now Department for Transport Local
Government and the Regions) Circulars from 1975
Department for Education (now Department for Education and Skills)
Circulars from 1959.
Government committees
A great deal of the business of Government is carried out in
committee.
There are two main types of committee; Select and Standing.
Standing Committees are set up to debate specific Bills as they go
through the committee stage in Parliament, where the minute detail
is discussed and amended. As soon as the Bill has completed that
stage the committee is disbanded. They are published as
'Parliamentary Debates: House of Commons Official Report'. This is
not to be confused with Hansard.
The County Central Library has the current session Standing
Committee Debates in stock.
Select Committees on the other hand are permanent, with each
Government department having a corresponding committee. The reports
of Select Committees are published as House of Commons and House of
Lords papers.
The County Central Library has a file of Select Committee papers of
around four to five years. Some papers of particular interest are
added to our permanent stock.
Hansard
Hansard, which was first published in 1811, provides a clear and
independent report of the proceedings of both Houses of
Parliament.
The County Central Library has a subscription to weekly Commons
Hansard, and a file of bound volumes from 1997. On microfiche we
have historical files from the 1960's.
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