Guidance and requirements for laying papers before the House of ...

Journal Office Guidance and requirements for laying papers before the House of Commons and their publication: April 2009to ensure hard copies of the document can be made available toMembers.41. Command Papers are normally required to be laid before bothHouses and can be laid on any weekday during the existence ofa Parliament. This includes non-sitting days during adjournmentsand when Parliament is prorogued, but not in the periodbetween the dissolution of a Parliament and the first day ofmeeting of the next one.42. To lay a paper two complete copies of the paper must bedelivered, by hand, to the Journal Office, which is on thethird floor of the House of Commons, above the Chamber. TheJournal Office is not the same place as the Vote Office, whichhandles bulk copies of papers for distribution to Members andothers. Documents are not accepted for laying by post, fax ore-mail. Advice on laying is available from the Journal Officeand from parliamentary branches in parent departments. Thephysical act of laying your paper is usually undertaken by theparliamentary branch of your parent department (in the nameof a Minister). Messengers will need a parliamentary pass toaccess the office. They should be accompanied by a laying letter(stapled to the front of both copies of the document) that setsout clearly:• the title of the document;• that it is being laid by Command with the name of thelaying Minister; and• the Command number, if applicable.18