Government and official publications

Online government publications

We subscribe to Public Information Online [PIO] and House of Commons Parliamentary Papers (HCPP) which provide access (in full text PDF form) to the following UK parliamentary papers.  We also have access to the Official Documents [OD] and Official Documents Archive [ODA] websites.

• House of Commons Papers:
  from 1715 (some earlier) to the current session on HCPP
  some 1994-2005 on ODA
  2005/06 Session onwards on OD
  2006/07 Session onwards on PIO
• House of Commons Bills:
  up to the current session on HCPP & 2006/07 Session onwards on PIO
• House of Lords Papers:
  1714-1805 on HCPP & 2006/07 Session onwards on PIO
• House of Lords Bills:
  1714-1805 on HCPP  & 2006/07 Session onwards on PIO
• Command Papers:
  all up to the current session on HCPP
  some 1994-2005 on ODA
  2005/06 Session onwards on OD
  2006/07 Session onwards on PIO
• Public Bill and Standing Committee Debates:
  up to 2004 on HCPP & 2006/07 Session onwards on PIO

Off-site (off-campus) access to Public Information Online and House of Commons Parliamentary Papers is possible using the Off-site Proxy and UOB login respectively - see the access to external electronic library resources and databases page for details. To search the literature for UK government publications you could use Public Information Online, UKOP, or TSOnline which are all available in MetaLib (and easily accessed via the Quick search > Articles & databases option of the Library home page).

Many other government publications are now available online. The Material type--Official publications cross-search on MetaLib (easily accessed via the Quick search > Articles & databases option of the Library home page) allows you to access many of these, and cross-search a number.

Printed government publications

Large collections of government publications are also held in print in the following branch libraries:

• Store (previously in the Arts & Social Sciences Library)
  Including UK parliamentary papers up to 2007 (see above for online alternatives), selected non-parliamentary papers, UK and overseas statistics, and public and social policy-related publications. Most of these are not itemized on the Library Catalogue. To see any of these you will need to request an item from Store.
• Education Library
  Education-related UK statistics.

Other branches have small numbers of government publications. The location and loan periods of government publications depends on the branch. For details of these libraries go to the branch libraries option. If you find a government publication on the Library Catalogue you will be given an indication of the location and the loan period.

If you would like to see a government publication that is not held by the University Library or available online you should consider using the Inter-Library Loan service.