Command Papers

7.29Command Papers are presented to Parliament as by command of the Queen. In practice, the responsibility for presentation is that of the Minister in charge of the relevant department. In general, Command Papers are those papers which are considered by the Government to be of interest to Parliament but which are not required by statute to be presented. They include annual reports of government departments, agreements and exchanges of notes with foreign states; other papers give information concerning the relations of the Government with international organisations. Statements of government policy or proposals for government legislation or administrative action are often laid before Parliament in this form. In certain cases they are presented following an undertaking given in Parliament for a White Paper on a particular subject. Green Papers, ie policy proposals issued for purposes of debate or consultation prior to final government decision, are also normally laid before Parliament in this form.

The great majority of Command Papers are published under a contract managed by The National Archives. They are published on the authority of the Minister presenting them and are included in a numbered series.1 Some papers are presented by command which do not form part of this series, and may be referred to as unnumbered/unprinted Command Papers.2 Some Command Papers are presented to the House of Commons alone, for example, the annual Estimates which are printed by order of the House.