British official publications

Abstract

This chapter discusses various types of British official publications in the economic field for the user to be able to trace and use them efficiently. In theory, Parliamentary papers are those that emanate from, and contain an order to be printed by, one of the two Houses of Parliament. In practice, the term is used rather more widely and covers in particular the three main series of papers produced each session by the House of Commons and printed as the House of Commons sessional papers. There is a separate set of House of Lords sessional papers consisting of Bills, with the same successive reprintings as in the Commons, and House of Lords papers that correspond with those House of Commons papers that originate within the House. One practical problem is that many statutory reports that were formerly parliamentary papers are now non-Parliamentary publications. This change started after a Treasury economy measure in 1921, but has greatly accelerated since the end of the Second World War and particularly since the early 1970s.