“Speeches are made to be heard. Speeches succeed, according to Lloyd George, by a combination of word, voice and gesture in moving their audiences to the action the orator desires…Yet many of the most effective speeches are quite unreadable in cold print.” (The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century Speeches)

Hansard provides a clear and independent record of all the proceedings in the Chamber of the House of Commons, Westminster Hall, its Standing Committees and certain Select Committees. The report of one day’s sitting in the House up to 1 am, and sometimes beyond, is on Members’ breakfast tables the next morning. It is worth noting that, on one occasion, all the day’s proceedings until the rise of the House at 2.45 am were available in print form by 7.30 am.

“Mr. Kinnock does not just deliver a speech with his voice: he dances it with his feet and choreographs it with his body.” (Anthony Howard, Political Commentator)

Hansard reporters

Hansard reporters sit in the Press Gallery to take their reports.
The typical reporters rota consists of about 16 men and women taking five-minute and ten-minute “turns”. Three main means of reporting are used: some reporters use written shorthand – the minimum speed required is 180 words a minute – and dictate to high-speed word processor operators; some use machine shorthand, written on Stenograph machines, which can be linked to computers to translate what they have recorded instantaneously into conventional written English; and others transcribe from tapes on to word processors. A computer network connects the Hansard offices throughout the Palace of Westminster. Reporters check their turns and send them to the Managing Editors.
On most days, Hansard produces enough copy to fill the news pages of The Guardian twice over.

A sub-editor sitting in the Committee Room

The reporting of Westminster Hall and Standing Committees is an increasingly important part of the work of the Official Report. They are reported using tape recordings. A sub-editor sitting in the Committee Room operates microphones that are linked to the tape system. He or she also writes a log of the proceedings, which provides guidance to a team of reporters who compile the report from a series of five-minute cassettes. The sub-editor subsequently reads the copy produced by transcribers for accuracy and consistency and sends the report in electronic format to The Stationery Office.




The Managing Editors have responsibility for the House and Westminster Hall reporters and annunciators teams, the production unit, the word processing assistants and the written answers unit.

Reporters send their completed copy to the MEs, who check it for consistency, accuracy, style and procedure and give it the final “polish”. The copy is then compiled into sections ready for sending via dial-up modems to the printer, The Stationery Office Parliamentary Data Centre.

The MEs also deal with the hundreds of written questions and answers that appear in Hansard each week. These are keyed in by the written answers unit operators and sent via electronic links to The Stationery Office.

The Managing Editors' room

The Managing Editors' room is where Members can check the transcript of their speeches. Members are not allowed to make alterations of substance to their speeches. Neither may Members subsequently add anything to their speeches or “write in” material to the record, as is allowed in some other legislatures.

Finished speeches are sent to the printers three hours after Members have sat down. Once speeches have been sent to the printers, it is not possible to amend them – any approved corrections are made to the bound volume. Once the finished speeches are received by the printers, they are simultaneously published on the "rolling" website.



As part of our quality control, Hansard conducts an ongoing survey of Members and Ministers civil servants, who are asked to complete a short questionnaire about their reception in the Department, the availability of their speeches, the standard of the reporting, and the prompt return of notes. Members may also record any other comments about the Department.

The results provide an invaluable means of regularly assessing our performance, as judged by Members and civil servants, and enable us to monitor how effective we are in meeting our commitment to provide an excellent service to Members.