Government publications

Information Asset Register

inforoute provides direct access to the Government’s Information Asset Register (IAR). The IAR lists information resources held by the UK Government, concentrating on unpublished resources. In doing so it enables users to identify, from one single source, the information held in a wide variety of government departments, agencies and other organisations. inforoute is a key part of the Government’s agenda for freeing up access to official information.

Directgov
Directgov describes itself as the website of the UK government for its citizens, providing information and online services for the public all in one place.

UK Official Documents
Search or browse Command Papers, House of Commons papers, and other papers (important papers sponsored by Government departments). From May 2005 onwards, all Command Papers and House of Commons Papers, as well as Key Departmental Papers, are available for free on the site in PDF format.

TSO online bookshop
The Stationary Office bookshop.

UKOP
A catalogue of UK official publications since 1980 produced by TSO. A subscription is needed for access.

Central government of the United Kingdom- Government bodies and people

The British Monarchy
The Queen is the United Kingdom's Head of State. As well as carrying out significant constitutional functions, the Queen also acts as a focus for national unity, presiding at ceremonial occasions, visiting local communities, and representing Britain around the world. Further information can be found on the British Monarchy website.

Central Government bodies
Central government in the UK consists of the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster, London, which is a two chamber body consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords; and a number of devolved Parliaments and Assemblies. Further Information can be found on the United Kingdom Parliament website.

The House of Commons
For brief informative descriptions of various facets of the House of Commons, see also House of Commons Information Office Factsheets. These Factsheets are divided into four series: Procedure, Legislation, Members/Elections and General.

The House of Lords
Information on the House of Lords, latest news and current business.

The Scottish Parliament
The website of the Scottish Parliament. Factual information about MSPs and Parliamentary Business can be found in Fact Sheets.

The National Assembly for Wales
The Welsh Assembly Government is the devolved government for Wales.

The Northern Ireland Assembly
Website of the Northern Ireland Assembly

London
This is the official website for the Mayor of London, the London Assembly and the Greater London Authority.

Note: The Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are not part of the United Kingdom. They are dependencies of the Crown, each with its own legislative assembly.

Ministers, Members of Parliament, and constituencies
Information about Ministers and Members of Parliament can be found in various sources, including as follows:

10 Downing Street
Provides details of the Cabinet, Government departments and their ministers, and Government in your particular area.

UK Government Ministers

Scottish Parliament ministers

Members of The House of Commons

Members of The House of Lords

Members of the Scottish Parliament

For historical information, see:

Quick Reference (Edinburgh Campus)
328.42 WHO
WHO'S WHO OF BRITISH MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT. VOL. 1: 1832-1885, VOL 2: 1886-1918

More up to date information can be found in:

Quick Reference
920.042 WHO
WHO'S WHO

For biographies of individual politicians, search the catalogue.

The Civil Service
The process of government is supported by a number of departments devoted to different areas of business. These also produce their own publications.

Information about the UK Civil Service can be found as follows:

The UK Civil Service
The Civil Service helps the Government of the day to develop and deliver its policies. The Civil Service incorporates three types of organisations – departments, agencies, and non-departmental government bodies (NDPBs).

The Scottish Government
The devolved government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport.

The Scottish Government was known as the Scottish Executive when it was established in 1999 following the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. The current administration was formed after elections in May 2007.

The Northern Ireland Executive

UK government information and publications

UK Government information can be divided into two types, Parliamentary Papers (also called Sessional Papers); and Non-Parliamentary publications.

Parliamentary Papers

This relates to papers required by the Parliaments and Assemblies in the conduct of their business.

Bills
A House of Commons bill will often appear as a different document at each of its Commons readings. Every bill is given a running number through the session, a new sequence of numbers starting with each session.

For details of recent Bills:

Bills before parliament
A list of bills currently before parliament

Previous bills (private and public)

Or use the annual publication:

Quick Reference
015.42 GOV
The Stationery Office annual catalogue: Government publications
This catalogue also has monthly supplements.

Weekly information bulletin
The Weekly Information Bulletin is produced weekly when the House is in Session and includes recent and forthcoming business of the House of Commons plus some for the House of Lords.

Scottish Parliament Bills
Bills homepage of the Scottish parliament
Links to bills currently in progress, previous bills and information on the legislative process.

Acts of Parliament or Statutes
Westlaw
Westlaw is a subscription database providing access to UK Acts (as amended) and UK Statutory Instruments (as amended and if currently in force). It also provides UK, EU & international cases and legislation; some UK full-text journals, a wide range of US titles, Session Cases from 1898 onwards and the Scots Law Times.

Lexis-Nexis Butterworths is a searchable database that contains the full text of regularly updated versions of Public and General Acts from 1267 and Statutory Instruments from 1861. Each Act can be viewed in pdf format or by section. If available, additional information about the legislation is provided including related subordinate legislation, annotated legislation, related cases, explanatory notes, is it in force, and related commentary.

The Library also has in print the full text of all Acts of the UK Parliament since 1865 and the Scottish Parliament since 1999. The relevant titles, all shelved in the Law Reports section, level 2, Edinburgh Campus, are:

1865 - 1948: Law Reports – Statutes

1949 - 1990: Scottish Current Law Statutes
This contains all UK Acts, not just Scotland.

1991 - : Current Law Statutes Annotated
Each Act is a chapter of the year’s volume. Details of the contents of a complete year are in the last volume of the year.

The Library very occasionally purchases additional copies of Acts of Parliament, which are published by HMSO, the Queen’s Printer. You can find them by searching the catalogue for the title of the Act.

Much legislation is also freely available on the internet:

Acts of the UK Parliament

This page provides links to the full text of all UK Parliament Public General Acts (from 1988 onwards) and all Local Acts (from 1991 onwards) as they were originally enacted. Some legislation made prior to 1988 has been added as PDF where available.

Acts of the Scottish Parliament
This page provides links to the full text of all Acts of the Scottish Parliament as they were originally enacted.

Wales legislation
This website is managed by Her Majesty’s Stationery Office on behalf of the Queen’s Printer. The site contains the full text of all Measures of the National Assembly for Wales and Statutory Instruments made by the Welsh Assembly Government and formerly the National Assembly for Wales.

Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly
This page provides links to the full text of all Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly as they were originally enacted by the Assembly, and the Explanatory Notes to the Acts.

UK Statute Law Database
A searchable database of all primary legislation of the United Kingdom.

Statutory Instruments (SIs)
Statutory Instruments are the commonest form of subordinate legislation (also known as secondary or delegated legislation). They are generally made by Ministers, the National Assembly for Wales or The Sovereign in Council, and provide the detailed regulations which implement Acts of Parliament.

Scottish Statutory Instruments (SSIs) are made by Scottish Ministers under Acts of the Scottish Parliament or powers transferred by the Scotland Act 1998.

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland are made by Northern Ireland Ministers under Acts and Measures of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Orders in Council.

Westlaw
Westlaw is a subscription database providing access to UK Acts (as amended) and UK Statutory Instruments (as amended and if currently in force). It also provides UK, EU & international cases and legislation; some UK full-text journals, a wide range of US titles, Session Cases from 1898 onwards and the Scots Law Times.

The full text of statutory instruments are also available online:

UK Parliament Statutory Instruments
This page provides links to all published Statutory Instruments from 1987 onwards.

Scottish Statutory Instruments
This page provides links to all published Scottish Statutory Instruments made by the Scottish Executive under powers granted by the Scotland Act 1998.

Welsh Statutory Instruments
This page provides links to the full text of all Statutory Instruments made by the Welsh Assembly Government and formerly the National Assembly for Wales under powers granted by the Government of Wales Acts 1998 and 2006.

The library also holds print copies of Statutory instruments in the Law Reports section:

Law Reports (Level 2, Edinburgh Campus)
Halsbury's Statutory Instruments, volumes 1-24
Statutory Instruments arranged by subject. [Note: This title is no longer kept up to date.]

Some Statutory Instruments are purchased individually and stored on the bookshelves. Check the catalogue for availability.

Hansard
The Record, or Official Report, of Public Debates in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and its other UK equivalents
Hansard provides a clear and independent record of all the proceedings in the UK Parliament. The Scottish Parliament keeps a similar record, called the Official Report, and the National Assembly for Wales has its Record of Proceedings.

Internet versions are available as follows:

House of Commons
Full text versions on the Internet start with Volume 142 for session 1988 - 1989.

House of Lords
The Lords Hansard full text database menu is also available.

Scottish Parliament Official Report

National Assembly for Wales Record of Proceedings

Command papers
Command Papers are, in general, those papers which are of interest to Parliament but whose presentation to Parliament is not required by statute. They are numbered in series up to 9999, and the current abbreviation is Cm. (previous references were : C., Cd., Cmd., and Cmnd.) The main types of papers included in Command Papers are as follows:

State Papers-Communiques and Treaties
Consultation Documents, sometimes called Green Papers
Reports of some major Committees of Enquiry
White Papers, i.e. Government Proposals for Legislation
Annual Reports
Government Replies to Select Committees
Reports of Royal Commissions.

The terms “White” and “Green” Paper are not precisely defined, though in broad terms White Papers contain statements of Government policy while Green Papers (often termed ‘consultative’ documents) put forward proposals for consideration and public discussion. They are included in the list of Command Papers

Command Papers are available on the Official Documents website.

Select Committee publications
Available online as follows:

House of Commons

House of Lords

Scottish Parliament

National Assembly for Wales

Finding out about current Parliamentary business
Weekly Information Bulletin
The Weekly Information Bulletin is produced weekly when the House is in Session and includes recent and forthcoming business of the House of Commons plus some for the House of Lords.

Sessional Information Digest
This is a cumulation of the Weekly Information Bulletin without the full bibliographical details.

Parliamentary Business
Here you can access information about the business conducted by the Scottish Parliament, both at full meetings of the Parliament and in Committee.

Business Bulletin
Produced each day, this details the current, future and past business of the Parliament.

Business Notice
Includes links to the details of the most recent business tabled or laid before the National Assembly for Wales; future Plenary and Committee meetings; and details of all Plenary and Committee meetings scheduled for the coming week.

Non-Parliamentary publications from government departments

These relate to information from Government departments and other bodies which support the work of Parliament.

We take individual publications from government departments, check the catalogue to see what we have.

These bodies do not necessarily have a specific section on their Websites for publications, but that does not mean that there are not documents on the site.

Many Non-Parliamentary papers are published by TSO and are available from the TSO’s online bookshop.

Government departments
Cabinet Office

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)

Department for Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Justice

Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

Department of Health

Department for International Development (DFID)

Department for Transport

Department for Work and Pensions

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

HM Treasury

Home Office

Ministry of Defence (MOD)

Northern Ireland Office
Supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Privy Council Office

Scotland Office
Supports the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Wales Office
Supports the Secretary of State for Wales.

Quangos or Public Bodies
A quango (quasi autonomous non-governmental organisation) is a national or regional public body, operating independently of Ministers, but for which Ministers are ultimately responsible. Such bodies are formally classified as NDPBs - or non-departmental public bodies. Public bodies include public corporations and nationalised industries and health bodies (NHS Trusts, Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts, Care Trusts and Special Health Authorities).

To find out more about public bodies operating across the UK visit the Information on Public Bodies website or for those in Scotland refer to the Public Sector page of the Scottish Government website.

Research Papers
House of Commons Library Research Papers
An occasional series of papers, numbered by year and sequence of publication, compiled for the benefit of British Members of Parliament by the staff of the House of Commons Library, usually dealing with topics of current parliamentary interest. They aim to be politically impartial and contain factual information as well as a range of opinions on each subject covered.

Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) Research Briefings
Written by research specialists in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe), research briefings are for use by MSPs in support of parliamentary business in the Committees and in the Chamber and are always impartial. Briefings can be browsed either by subject or by date of publication.

Local government of the United Kingdom

Some books about how local government works can be found in the Edinburgh Campus (Riccarton) Library at class number 352.042. Check the catalogue for specific publications.

Local government information can be difficult to trace, and councils do produce a large number of documents, ranging from planning and social welfare, to civil defence and local history. Also there are Council and committee minutes, administrative reports and statistics, byelaws, technical and research studies, policies and guidelines, economic development, publicity and promotional material, and tourist information. Much of this material became publicly accessible as a result of the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

The local public library services can be a good starting point for this type of information, or you can go directly to a council’s website. The Central Library of Edinburgh City Libraries is on George VI Bridge, opposite the National Library of Scotland. The Public Library in Galashiels is in Lawyers Brae. The websites for these Councils are:

Edinburgh City Council

Scottish Borders Council

Some local government publications will be sent to the British Library, check its catalogue to see if there is anything of interest to you. Otherwise, look at the websites of individual councils. Lists of local government web sites can be found, for example at:

DirectGov - Local councils - directories

Tagish Essential List
Tagish is a consultancy firm which deals in public sector applications, which has developed a section on its website called the Essential List. This contains a section on UK Local Government websites.

Information published by central government of particular relevance to local government can be found on these websites:

Info4Local portal

Local Government Information Unit (LGIU)
The LGIU is an independent research and information organisation supported by over 150 councils and the local government trade unions. It operates through policy briefings, the LGIU helpline, publications, training and development, networks, conferences and seminars.

European Union

Heriot-Watt University Library purchases EU material, but not all the official publications. Check the catalogue to see what we have. If this does not meet your needs, there are several other places in Edinburgh and Galashiels that you can try:

Europa Library
Edinburgh University’s Europa Library is a designated European Documentation Centre and, as such has a copy of nearly all EU material. Ask for details of access arrangements at the Service Desk in the Edinburgh Campus (Riccarton) or SBC (Martindale) Library.

Edinburgh Public Library’s Reference Library, on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh and Scottish Borders Library Service at Galashiels Library, Lawyers Brae, Galashiels, are part of a national network called the European Union Public Information Relay, aimed at improving access to information on Europe.

Other sources to help you find where you can get information on Europe include:

The UK Office of the European Parliament in Scotland
This is a branch of the UK Office in London. It was established in 1999 with the aim of helping to increase awareness of the European Parliament and its activities in Scotland.

European Information Network in the UK
This website brings together contact details for organisations and individuals in the United Kingdom that provide EU information and advice for the general public, business, and the academic community.

Institutions and people of the European Union

Europa - Gateway to the European Union
EUROPA is the portal site of the European Union (http://europa.eu). It provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration. Users can also consult all legislation currently in force or under discussion, access the websites of each of the EU institutions and find out about the policies administered by the European Union under the powers devolved to it by the Treaties.

There are five bodies involved in running the European Union:

European Parliament
Elected every five years directly by citizens of the member states. Plenary sessions, which all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) attend, are held in Strasbourg, the Parliament’s seat. Parliamentary committee meetings and any additional plenary sessions are held in Brussels, whilst the General Secretariat is in Luxembourg. Elected every five years, Parliament has 732 MEPs affiliated to transnational political groups which represent the main political tendencies in the Member States of the Union. The website contains a whole range of information about the Parliament and its activities, including some Factsheets, and information about current and past Presidencies.

Council of the European Union
Comprises one ministerial level representative of each Member State, empowered to commit their government. Although there is just one Council, different groups meet as a function of the topics to be discussed. The Presidency of the Council is held for six months by each of the Member States in turn. The Council’s seat is in Brussels, where the ministerial meetings take place, except in April, June and October, when they are held in Luxembourg.

European Commission
A politically independent collegial institution which embodies and defends the general interests of the European Union. From 2005 the college of Commissioners will be made up of one Commissioner from each Member State. It is assisted by an administration comprising general services (Secretariat-General, Legal Service, Eurostat, etc.) and the Directorates-General (DGs), each of which is headed by a Director-General answerable to the relevant Commissioner. The President and Members of the Commission are appointed by the Member States after they have been approved by the European Parliament.

Court of Justice
Ensures that Community law is uniformly interpreted and effectively applied. It has jurisdiction in disputes involving Member States, EU institutions, businesses and individuals. The seat of the Court of Justice is in Luxembourg.

European Court of Auditors
Checks that all the European Union’s revenue has been received and all its expenditure incurred in a lawful and regular manner and that financial management of the EU budget has been sound. The seat of the Court of Auditors is in Luxembourg.

These institutions are supported by:

European Central Bank (ECB)
Since 1 January 1999 the ECB has been responsible for monetary policy in the euro-area. The ECB and the central banks of the countries that have adopted the euro make up a new entity known as the “Eurosystem”. As certain Member States of the European Union have not yet adopted the euro, it is important to make a distinction between the Eurosystem of 12 countries and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which comprises 15 countries.The seat of the European Central Bank is in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Its staff come from all the Member States of the European Union.

European Investment Bank
Finances investment projects which contribute to the balanced development of the Union. The seat of the European Investment Bank is in Luxembourg, where it employs highly qualified and multicultural staff from all the Member States of the European Union.

European Economic and Social Committee
Advisory body ensuring that the various economic and social interest groups (employers, trade unions, farmers, consumers, etc.) are represented in the institutional framework of the European Union. The seat of the ESC is in Brussels.

Committee of the Regions
Ensures that regional and local identities and prerogatives are respected. It has to be consulted on matters concerning regional policy, the environment and education. It is composed of representatives of regional and local authorities. The seat of the Committee of the Regions is in Brussels.

European Ombudsman
All individuals or entities (institutions or businesses) resident in the Union can apply to the European Ombudsman if they consider that they have been harmed by an act of “maladministration” by an EU institution or body. The Ombudsman is appointed after each European Parliament election for a renewable term of five years, corresponding to Parliament’s legislative term. His seat is that of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg. He is assisted by a secretariat, whose principal administrator he also appoints.

People
Information about Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) can be found in various sources, including:

European Parliament

EU Whoiswho, the official directory of the European Union
It is searchable by person, entity, or by hierarchy.

UK Office of the European Parliament
Links to UK MEPs according to region, giving their photos, contact details, including links to MEP's websites if they have one, and the committees they serve on.

European Information Network in Scotland
Information about Scottish MEPs.

Publications of the European Union

For material held in Heriot-Watt University Library, check the catalogue.

Eur-Lex – The portal to European Union law
This is the best place to start when looking for any European information as it provides – or at least, is in the process of providing – a streamlined environment for consultation of the legislation in force, and of the complete electronic archive of legal and juridical texts from all European institutions.

Treaties
The history of the various Treaties for the European Union and their amendments. The Treaties can be downloaded in PDF format.

Official Journal of the European Union
Published every working day in the official languages of the European Union. It contains two series (the L series for legislation and the C series for information and notices) and a supplement (Public Procurement Notices). The latter is available through the TED (tenders electronic daily) database.

Bulletin of the European Union
Gives an account of the activities of the European Commission and the other Community institutions. It is published 10 times per year in all the Community languages by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, and essentially it is a reference work and a research tool.

General Report on the Activities of the European Union
Published annually by the Commission, supplementing the Bulletin of the European Union. It is presented to the European Parliament in February, and reviews the activities of the European Union in the previous year.

Eurostat - the Statistical Office of the European Communities
Updated daily, this site provides direct access to the latest and most complete statistical information available on the European Union, the EU Member States, the euro-zone and other countries.

Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
OPOCE is the official publisher of the institutions and other bodies of the European Union.

United States of America

Some background reading on American government can be found at class numbers 320.973 and 353. Check our catalogue to see what we have. If this does not meet your needs, then try the catalogues of other libraries. If necessary we can obtain the item(s) for you through the Inter Library Loan Service.

Government bodies and people

Presidents of the United States

The White House

United States Senate
Includes information on all senators and links to their home pages, biographical backgrounds, committee assignments and roll call results.

United States House of Representatives

Official US Executive Branch Web Sites
Links to the official Websites of government departments, independent and quasi-official agencies, and boards, commissions and committees.

Publications and documents

USA.gov
The U.S. Government's official Web portal providing a centralised place to find information from U.S. local, state and federal government agency websites. It features a topical index, online transactions, links to state and local government, and other tools so you do not have to know the name of the government agency to get the information you want.

Thomas - Legislative Information from the Library of Congress
Produced by the Library of Congress, this gives access to the full text of House and Senate bills and resolutions from the current and previous sessions of Congress, searchable by keywords and bill number. The full text of the Congressional Record, a daily account of proceedings on the House and Senate floor, is included, as well as bill summary and status information. This source also contains information about how laws are made, along with the full text of the Constitution of the United States.

GPO Access - Government Printing Office
Provides access to official U.S. Federal Government Information, including searchable catalogue of U.S. Official Publications.

Fedstats - Federal statistics
Gateway to statistics from over 100 US Federal Agencies. You can access the full range of official statistical information available to the public from the Federal Government. It allows tracking of economic and population trends, health care costs, aviation safety, foreign trade, energy use, farm production, and more. There is no need to know in advance which agency produces the statistics in which you are interested.

Fedworld.gov
This gateway to federal US Government information is managed by the National Technical Information Service.

International Organisations

The Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent sovereign states including both developed and developing nations around the world. Its 1.7 billion people account for 30 per cent of the world’s population. Sixteen countries are constitutional monarchies that recognise Queen Elizabeth II as their Head of State.

The Commonwealth Secretariat publishes a range of material on the Commonwealth and its activities. It also publishes research studies, journals, handbooks and directories, and the reports of meetings and seminars, covering political and economic affairs and all areas of development.

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation)
The NATO Treaty was first signed in 1949 with an initial 12 members, now there are 19 members. The fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries. Its first task is to deter and defend against any threat of aggression against any of them.

NATO also plays a key role in the field of crisis management, by contributing to effective conflict prevention and, in the event of a crisis, by taking appropriate action to resolve the crisis when there is consensus among the member countries to do so. In addition, the Alliance promotes partnership and co-operation with other countries in the Euro-Atlantic area, aimed at increasing openness, mutual confidence and the capacity for joint action.

We have a number of publications from the NATO Advanced Science Institute; check the catalogue for details. Some background information on NATO can be found at class number 344.03.

United Nations (UN)
The United Nations is central to global efforts to solve problems that challenge humanity. According to its Charter, the UN has four purposes: to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to co-operate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights, and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

UN Members are sovereign countries. The United Nations is not a world government, and it does not make laws. It does, however, provide the means to help resolve international conflict and formulate policies on matters affecting all of us. At the UN, all the Member States - large and small, rich and poor, with differing political views and social systems - have a voice and vote in this process.

The United Nations has six main organs. Five of them - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat - are based at UN Headquarters in New York. The sixth, the International Court of Justice, is located at The Hague, the Netherlands.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The OECD groups 30 member countries in an organisation that provides governments with a setting in which to discuss, develop and perfect economic and social policy.

Heriot-Watt University Library takes a number of OECD publications, including statistics and other documents. Check the catalogue to see what we have.

If we do not take the publication you require, then consult the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. The OECD designates a Depository Library in each OECD Member country where members of the public can consult the broad range of OECD publications and working papers. In Scotland, this is the National Library of Scotland. Information on access to the National Library of Scotland is available here

You could also check the OECD web site, as many publications are available online.

Government Information

Process of UK government

UK political parties

News, political comment and opinions

Finding official publications