Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Monday, 26 June 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 June 2006. It was answered by Liam Byrne (Labour) on Monday, 4 September 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Departmental Publications

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the unnumbered Command papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; by what means (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my Department on 18 July 2005. No unnumbered Command Papers have been produced since the end of June 2005 although the Department has published a number of departmental publications as well as several numbered Command Papers through TSO. The list on the website of the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), www.opsi.gov.uk, of Command Papers from 2001 onwards continues to be updated and allows searching by Department or numerically. All Command Papers presented to the House are recorded in the Commons Journal and are available in the Library of the House.Departmental publications that are still in print in paper form may be obtained through the Home Office public inquiry unit. TSO bookshops sell Command Papers and other priced publications. The Home Office website www.homeoffice.gov.uk provides access to many recent publications in electronic formats.Copies of most Home Office departmental publications since 1976 have been sent to the deposit libraries under the legislation in force at the time and will be available to hon. Members and the public in accordance with the conditions of use of each library. Many public library authorities are able to obtain copies of Home Office publications that they do not already stock through long-established inter-lending arrangements.

Secondary information