Official publications encompass a wide variety of materials. They include parliamentary publications and publications from government departments and other public bodies and agencies. Official publications may include statistics, records, reports, legislation and even maps.
Official publications may originate from many different sources. These include the legislatures and governments of individual countries, as well as international organisations such as the European Union or the United Nations, the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO, the Council of Europe, etc.
Official publications may cover social, economic, scientific and many other topics. Therefore, they may be of relevance to any academic discipline.
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is a forum and knowledge hub for data, analysis and best practices in public policy. OECD Publications provides access to the Organisation's reports, research papers, policy papers and briefs. Content includes case studies and working papers. The OECD site also provides access to statistical data and country information.
Public Information Online is a searchable database providing access to official publications from UK legislative bodies and governments. It includes full-text documents from the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Scottish Government, Northern Ireland Assembly, Welsh Senedd, and selected non-parliamentary sources.
UK Parliament documents, include:
• House of Commons and House of Lords Papers (from 2006/07 and 1901 respectively).
• Public Bills, Explanatory Notes, Command Papers, Acts, and Statutory Instruments.
• Hansard (from 1803 for Commons and 1909 for Lords).
• Committee reports, financial statements, and other parliamentary proceedings.
Scottish Parliament coverage starts from Session 3 (May 2007) onwards and includes legislative and procedural documents such as:
• Bills (public and private), Explanatory Notes, Policy Memorandums, and Financial Memorandums.
• Official Reports (debates), Minutes of Proceedings, Written Answers, and Committee Reports.
• Business Bulletins and Marshalled Lists of amendments.
• Full texts of Acts and accompanying explanatory materials.
Scottish Government publications, available from 2009 onwards include:
• Annual reports, consultations, and research findings.
• Documents spanning diverse policy areas such as education, health, environment, justice, and economics.
Useful for: All disciplines - especially Education, Government & Public Policy, Law, Politics, Social Work & Social Policy.
Full text of Scottish Government publications from 1997 onwards.
U.K. Parliamentary Papers (formerly House of Commons Parliamentary Papers) contains Sessional Papers (e.g. House of Commons Papers, Command Papers and Public Bills) from 1715 to the 2009/10 parliamentary session. UKPP also provides access to supplementary parliamentary material back to 1688 including material from the House of Lords. Full-text of papers from session 2010-11 onwards is available via the Public Information Online service.
For more information about finding and using official publications, take a look at our official publications guide:
