About the daily business papers
The current and future business of Parliament is recorded formally in a set of daily documents, known as business papers. These papers contain the agenda for the sitting day ahead in each House, as well as the events and decisions of the previous day.
Today's business
In the House of Commons the agenda for each sitting day appears in the Order of Business - commonly known as the Order Paper. This includes that day's questions for oral answer, subjects for debate, committee meetings and notice of any written ministerial statements.
In addition to the Order Paper, you can access other papers relating to the daily business including material relating to private business, statutory instruments, bill papers, and early day motions.
View the latest Commons business papers.
The agenda for the coming day's business in the House of Lords is set out in Notices and Orders of the Day (also known as the Order Paper). This includes the oral questions of the day and motions for debate in the Chamber and in Grand Committee.
View the latest Lords Order Paper.
Yesterday's business
In the House of Commons the formal record of what the House did the previous day is recorded in Votes and Proceedings. This includes decisions, amendments to bills, and a list of publications and other documents laid before the House. It does not include what is said in the House, as this is recorded in Commons Hansard. Full division results, showing how MPs voted, appear in Votes in Parliament.
Parliamentary questions that were tabled by MPs on previous days can be found in the Questions Tabled paper. To find answers to written questions since 2014 search find written questions and answers , for answers before 2014 see Hansard.
In the House of Lords the previous day's business is formally recorded in the Minutes of Proceedings. You can find these by clicking on any past sitting day in the calendar of Lords business papers. The Minutes do not include what was said in the House, as this is recorded in Lords Hansard.
Tomorrow and future business
Future business in the House of Commons can be found at towards the back of the daily Order Paper. This includes
- The provisional business for the coming week
- Business provisionally timetabled for any future date
- Remaining Orders and Notices (business for which no date has yet been scheduled)
Oral Questions that have been tabled by MPs for answer on future days can be found in the Future Day Orals paper.
In the House of Lords, you can find provisional future business by clicking on future dates in the calendar of the Lords Business Papers.
See also Forthcoming Business, produced weekly by the Government Whips Office in the House of Lords.
Access to past business papers of both Houses
House of Commons Order Papers are available on our website from November 1997 onwards. Daily Votes and Proceedings are available from December 2008 onwards.
House of Lords Orders of the day and Minutes of Proceedings are available on our website from June 1998 onwards
Older Order papers, and other business papers, such as notices of questions and motions, can be accessed via the British Library.
The Journals
The Commons Journal and the Lords Journal, produced at the end of each parliamentary year (session), are the legal record of the proceedings (events and decisions) in each House.
The House of Commons Journal contains the cumulative daily Votes and Proceedings from each session. They are available on our website in pdf format, from 1837 onwards.
The House of Lords Journal is compiled from the daily Lords Minutes of Proceedings. They are available on our website from 1997-2017 and from 1509-1832 on the British History Online website .
The National Archives can provide access to the full collection of Journals for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Printed Journals may also be accessible in other large reference libraries such as university libraries.