House of Lords Hansard
Hansard is a substantially verbatim report of what is said in the House of Lords each day. It is available online approximately three hours after a debate and in hard copy the following morning. The Lords and Commons have separate reports.
Parliamentary reporting has a long history, dating back to the 16th century and it was officially banned until the early 19th century.
Today Lords Hansard includes all business in the House and its committees, such as debates, division (vote) results, Grand Committee proceedings, written ministerial statements and written answers to questions.
The substantially verbatim transcript is produced by Hansard reporters and edited by managing editors to remove repetitions and obvious mistakes.
A definitive bound volume is also published some weeks later and represents the final version of proceedings in the House of Lords.
Further information
- The History of Hansard: discover more about the history of parliamentary reporting.
- Historic Hansard: explore records of parliamentary business dating back to 1803. (external link)
- Lords and Commons Hansard: read transcripts and find business papers from both Houses.
