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Government documents and official publications

Departmental publications

Departmental publications are British official publications not issued as part of the parliamentary process. They are also referred to as "Non-Parliamentary publications".

Virtually all government departments issue publications to inform both Parliament and the public of their activities and policies, and to make available information they have collected.

These publications include:

  • circulars
  • administrative reports
  • enquiry and advisory reports
  • technical and research reports
  • policy papers (including some green papers and white papers), advice and guidance including codes of practice, reference sources and statistics.

Search indexes for more information

Use the following indexes to establish the full details of a paper:

Find departmental publications in the Library

We have subscribed to virtually all post-1969 publications from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO – now known as the Stationery Office or TSO).

These can be found in the Official Publications section of the Edward Boyle Library on level 8. They are arranged alphabetically by issuing department.

We have a small selection of pre-1969 publications. They are mainly shelved outside of the Official Publications section and have been incorporated into the regular stock.

The Official Publications section also contains a substantial number of publications published directly by departments (ie not via TSO). Check the item record in Library search for full details and locations.

Publications of departments that are no longer in existence are held on level 8 in the Edward Boyle Library They all have the shelf mark "Stack Official Publications British".