LibGuides: Journalism, PR and Media: Government, law & society

Law

See also the Law Subject Guide on the Library Gateway.

British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII) This link opens in a new window
Primary legal materials for the UK, the Republic of Ireland and the European Union. Access to case law and primary and secondary legislation. Substantial case coverage begins with 1996, although there is pre 1996 material available; statutes go back to 1215.
The World Databases link also gives access to legal materials from a wide range of jurisdictions, including France and the USA.
EUR-Lex The Portal to European Union Law This link opens in a new window
EUR-Lex provides direct free access to European Union law. Includes full text documents on European Union law, the legislative procedures of the Union and EU institutions.
You can consult the selection of new documents on the homepage. EUR-Lex offers: daily editions of the Official Journal of the European Union online, Simple search, advanced search and browsing options, the possibility to display and/or download documents (PDF, HTML, DOC, TIFF)

Legislation.gov.uk
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A website managed by National Archives on behalf of British Government. It publishes all UK legislation. The "Most requested Acts" are listed with hyperlinks to sections of acts. Documents can also be read as pdf copies of original publications. Users can browse draft legislation, new legislation, changes to legislation and legislation by category. Partial datasets available from 1801-1987 & complete datasets from 1988 to the present.

Lexis Plus This link opens in a new window
Lexis Plus (previously Lexis Library) contains a wide range of databases of full text legal resources, including statutes, statutory instruments and cases. It provides extensive coverage of English, U.S., Commonwealth and European Union primary and secondary materials. In addition, it provides access to journals and e-books.
Lexis Plus also gives access to information on the following practice areas: company and commercial; employment; family; financial services; litigation; personal injury; private client property; public sector; tax and accountancy, with many full text U.K. journals. Also included is a wide range of UK newspapers.
WorldLII This link opens in a new window
The World Legal Information Institute provides free and independent access to databases from over 120 countries covering worldwide law. WorldLII has databases from countries in six continents, mainly those with a common law tradition.
Materials include case law, statutes and commentary.Databases are included from Australasia, Canada; Britain and Ireland, the Pacific Islands, Hong Kong and other countries in Asia and Africa.
All types of legal databases are included: case law, legislation, treaties , law reform, law journals, and specialist subject databases.

Parliament and MPs

www.Parliament.uk
The website of the UK Parliament. It includes a wealth of additional information about parliament, including MPs, Lords and Offices, parliamentary business, parliamentary news, what's on, bills & legislation, committees, topics, publications & records, early day motions, contacts, educational support, archives and research, an A-Z index, freedom of information, glossary, RSS feeds, etc.
TheyWorkForYou
TheyWorkforYou aims to make it easier to find information about Parliament, such as debates, questions, and profiles and data on MPs.
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It covers the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, but doesn't currently cover the Welsh Assembly.
TheyWorkForYou is part of the mySociety project of UK Citizens Online Democracy. It is not part of the UK Government.

UK Parliamentary Papers This link opens in a new window
This database provides full-text access to: Bills and Acts 1695-2005, Command Papers 1833-2005, House of Commons Papers 1715-2005, House of Lords papers 1714-1805, Hansard 1803-2005, Journals 1688-1834, Debates 1774-1805 and Histories and proceedings 1660-1743.

Parliamentary debates: House of Commons (Hansard)
A detailed search engine is included; you can search by date, MP or subject.The site also provides access to the debates of House of Commons Standing Committees. To access the House of Commons debates from the UK Parliament home page, click on the 'Parliamentary business' link at the top of the screen, then on the 'Publications and records' tab.
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Hansard is a full-text database of the official report of the House of Commons. It contains Debates and Oral and Written Answers to Questions. Coverage is from the beginning of the 1988/89 parliamentary to the present.
Parliamentary debates: House of Lords (Hansard)
Hansard is a full-text database of the official report of the House of Lords - this is an edited account of debates.
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Coverage is from Session 1994-95 to the present. There is a set of search categories: by date, by member and by subject. There are also volume indexes available from January 2001. To access the House of Lords debates from the UK Parliament home page, click on the 'Parliamentary business' link at the top of the screen, then on the 'Publications' tab.
Historic Hansard: House of Commons
Coverage going back to beginning of nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century
Historic Hansard: House of Lords
Coverage from the early nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century
The Public Whip
A website which monitors and records in detail MPs' voting patterns.

Freedom of Information

The Freedom of Information Act allows you to request and receive information from a huge number of publicly-funded bodies. There are several exemptions to the Act, however, so not all requests may succeed.

Before you make a FOI request, it may be worth doing some checking first. Most bodies affected by the act should have:

a publication scheme, which tells you what information they they have already made publicly available
a disclosure log, which tells you what FOI requests they have already received. If the request was successful, they will provide the information; if the request was unsuccessful, they will say why.

Checking these before you make a request will avoid wasting time making requests for information that is already available, or help you formulate your own request to improve its chances of success.

Freedom of Information Act 2000
The legislation governing Freedom of Information requests in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which came into effect in 2005
Freedom of Information Act 2000: Schedule 1
The list of bodies covered by the Act, to which you can make Freedom of Information requests.
The Information Commissioner's Office
More information on Freedom of Information in the UK. You can appeal to there Information Commissioner if a public body's own complaints procedure does not satisfactorily review their handling of a FOI request.
Information Commissioner Office: decision notices
Rulings by the Information Commissioner on cases concerning FOI and other relevant laws.
Information Tribunal decisions
The Information Tribunal is the next stage of appeal for FOI cases after the Information Commissioner. These are their rulings.
Appeals to the Information Tribunal
How to appeal to the Information Tribunal if you are unsatisfied with the Information Commissioner's decision
WhatDoTheyKnow
A not-for-profit service designed to make submitting FOI requests, and viewing previous FOI requests, much easier.
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WhatDoTheyKnow is part of the mySociety project of UK Citizens Online Democracy. It is not part of the UK Government.
TheyWorkForYou
TheyWorkforYou aims to make it easier to find information about Parliament, such as debates, questions, and profiles and data on MPs.
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It covers the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly, but doesn't currently cover the Welsh Assembly.
TheyWorkForYou is part of the mySociety project of UK Citizens Online Democracy. It is not part of the UK Government.
Environmental Information Regulations 2004
Another law providing access to information, in this case regarding environmental information of various kinds. In these situations, it can be more useful than FOIA, as there are fewer exemptions that can be used to counter a request.
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Scotland operates under a different set of FOI laws.
Scottish Information Commissioner
More about FOI in Scotland, including the decisions of the Scottish Information Commissioner.

Government and society

British Social Attitudes Survey
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The primary social research survey in Britain. Since 1983, the annual surveys conducted by the National Centre for Social Research have continually monitored and interpreted the British public's changing attitudes towards social, economic, political and moral issues. Its findings are reported and interpreted in a series of annual reports. This web-site was developed to provide non-specialist users with on-line access and analysis of a database of 20,000 + survey questions asked over 26 years.
CPS (Crown Prosecution Service)
Europa
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The official website of the European Union. A good starting point if you are looking for information and services provided by the EU but you don't know your way around our sites. This site gives you: basic information on how the EU works; the latest EU news and events; links to EU information on the websites of EU institutions and agencies.You can search this site using one of our main topics, e.g. About the EU, Your Life in the EU, Take Part, or by using the search engine or A-Z index.
European Sources Online (ESO)
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Helps find information on the EU, Europe and issues of concern to European citizens, researchers and stakeholders. ESO is not simply an index to to finding information on European topics. It includes COM docs, blogs, think tank reports, academic monographs, press releases, news sources and academic journals.
GOV.UK
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Delivers government information and practical advice about public services. Content is in plain English. Information relates to motoring, money, employment, education, health, disability, taxation, citizens rights etc. and is provided by a variety of U K Government Departments and agencies. Users can browse 11 broad subject categories. A site index provides A-Z access by subject. This replaces DirectGov.uk
Legislation.gov.uk
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A website managed by National Archives on behalf of British Government. It publishes all UK legislation. The "Most requested Acts" are listed with hyperlinks to sections of acts. Documents can also be read as pdf copies of original publications. Users can browse draft legislation, new legislation, changes to legislation and legislation by category. Partial datasets available from 1801-1987 & complete datasets from 1988 to the present.

Mass Observation Online This link opens in a new window
Mass Observation was a pioneering social research organisation whose papers provide insights into the cultural and social history of Britain from 1937 to 1965. The material at the Mass Observation Archive, and now on Mass Observation Online, offers an unparalled insight into everyday life in the 1930s and 1940s.
Mass Observation Online provides integrated access to almost 400,000 digital images of material from the Mass Observation Archive (MOA). In addition, it functions as a finding aid for all material held on Adam Matthew Publications microfilm, and in the Mass Observation Archive.How much material can I copy?Images from this collection may be downloaded, printed and photocopied for educational purposes including course packs. (See FAQ's in MOA for further information.)Can I use images in my essays?Yes. Links may be created for essays submitted electronically. Photocopies and printouts of images may be used to accompany printed essay material.

NatCen [National Centre for Social Research]
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Britain's leading centre for independent social research, covering all areas of social policy. Findings have practical application in terms of understanding social behaviour and informing policy. NatCen reveals what is going on in Britain today. Reports are produced in the following subject areas: Health & Lifestyle, Social & Political Attitudes, Children, Schools & Families, Crime & Justice, Employment, Skills & Education, Income & Welfare, Social Inclusion and Transport & the Environment.
Neighbourhood Statistics
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Established in 2001 by the Office for National Statistics and Neighbourhood Renewal Unit to provide good quality small area data to support the Neighbourhood Renewal agenda. Neighbourhood Statistics contains over 300 datasets, covering Health, Housing, Education, Deprivation, Age, Ethnicity and 2001 Census data down to neighbourhood level; on-line e-learning to guide users through the site; and a statistical toolkit to help users understand data. [ from Wikipedia]
Statewatch
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Statewatch is a non-profit-making voluntary group monitoring the state and civil liberties in Europe. It is comprised of lawyers, academics, journalists, researchers and community activists. Its European network of contributors is drawn from 18 countries. Statewatch encourages the publication of investigative journalism and critical research in Europe the fields of the state, justice and home affairs, civil liberties, accountability and openness.

Office for National Statistics This link opens in a new window
The main gateway to UK official statistics. Provides direct access to tables of data, full text publications and the latest official releases. Covers Britain's economy, population and society at national and regional levels. Updated daily.