Official Publications

Official publications are produced by many different official bodies, including individual government departments, Parliament and government agencies. Many recent official publications are available online

Green Papers are consultation papers issued by government departments for discussion of proposals which are still at an early stage. (Other organisations, not just government ones, may also use the term 'green paper' to describe their own consultation papers)
Copies of Green Papers which are produced by the Government are available on the related departmental websites, which you can find through GOV.UK

White Papers are issued by the Government as statements of policy. They often set out proposals for legislative changes for debate before the Government introduces a Bill. Some White Papers invite comments
Copies of recent White Papers produced by the Government are available on the related departmental websites, which you can find through GOV.UK. Important current White Papers may be highlighted in the appropriate subject section of GOV.UK
If you know the name or other details (Command Paper Number or issuing body) of the White Paper, search the Official documents web site. The site includes the full text of all White Papers from May 2005 onwards and a selection of key documents published before then

If you know the name of the publication, or part of the name, a quick way to find the online version may be simply to enter the name in a general search engine.
If you are not sure of the name of the publication but know the name of the organisation that issued it, go to the organisation's web site to check if it is available online there
To find the web sites of official bodies, see GOV.UK
For more web sites that help you find official publications from national government and Parliament, see Government and Politics in WebLinks
For more details about legal official publications see Law and your rights
For local council agendas and minutes and other publications, see the Bedford Borough Council and Central Bedfordshire Council web sites; for town and parish councils sites, see the Local Information Database
Library catalogue - many older official publications are listed here.

Page last updated: 1st December 2020