Hansard
Hansard is the Official Report of the proceedings of the British Parliament. It is published daily when Parliament is sitting and records everything that is said and done in both the House of Commons and House of Lords, for which separate reports are issued. It is also available weekly and in bound issues. In the House of Commons the Hansard Reporters sit in a gallery above the Speaker and take down every word that is said in the Chamber. In the Westminster Hall Chamber they sit next to the Chairman. The Hansard Reporters in the House of Lords sit below the Bar of the House, facing the Lord Chancellor. Hansard is now published on the internet on the UK Parliament site. The name Hansard was officially adopted in 1943 after Luke Hansard (1752 - 1828) who was the printer of the House of Commons Journal from 1774. The first detailed official reports were published in 1803 in William Cobbett's Political Register by the political journalist of the same name. This was the first time that the Press were allocated seats in the Public Galleries of the House. Cobbett sold the business to his printer, Thomas Curson Hansard, the son of Luke and the publication remained with the Hansard family until 1889.

Home Office
The Home Office is the Government Department which looks after the police, prisons and community relations amongst other things. You will find more information on the Home Office website.

House of Commons (work of)
The House of Commons has several responsibilities. It plays a major part in the process that makes new laws, debating and looking in detail at proposals for new legislation. The Commons also has a responsibility to scrutinise the work of the Government . It is able to question Ministers and Civil Servants about the work that they do. Unlike the House of Lords , the House of Commons looks at the financial work of the Government and must approve Government spending and taxation. The House of Commons is also referred to as the Lower House.

House of Commons Chamber
The House of Commons Chamber was rebuilt to a design by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott after it was damaged during the Second World War. The new Chamber was built in a style that was in keeping with the Chamber that had been destroyed. The layout of the Chamber consists of two sets of green benches that are opposite to each other. There is a table in the middle and the Speaker's Chair at one end. This arrangement means that the Government and Opposition MPs sit facing each other. The Chamber is actually quite small and there is only room for 427 MPs to sit down when there are 659 MPs in total. Many of the objects in the Chamber, such as the Speaker's Chair, were gifts from Commonwealth countries.

House of Commons Commission
The House of Commons Commission is the overall supervisory body of the House of Commons Administration. It prepares and lays before the House the Estimates for the House of Commons Service; it decides most matters of policy; and it appoints staff of the House, and determines their pay, pensions and other conditions of service. The House of Commons Commission was established by the House of Commons (Administration) Act 1978, which provides that the Commission should have six members: the Speaker as Chairman; the Leader of the House; a Member of the House nominated by the Leader of the Opposition (normally the Shadow Leader of the House); and three other Members appointed by the House, none of whom may be a Minister. One Member of the Commission acts as its spokesman in the House (for example in answering Parliamentary Questions).

House of Commons Green
One of the features of the Palace of Westminster is the difference between the colours that are used in the Lords and Commons parts of the building. Green is the principal colour for furnishings and fabrics throughout the House of Commons. Not only are the benches and carpets in the Chamber green but it is the predominant colour throughout the Commons. The origins of the use of green are lost in time. The first mention of its use in furnishing fabrics occurs in a book of travels by de Monconys published in 1663. As early as 1698 seats at State trials were provided in red and green for the two Houses. It is known that under Henry III, the builder of St. Stephen’s Chapel, where the Commons sat from about 1548 to 1834, both the Chapel and the Painted Chamber were green. The colours of the House of Tudor were green and white and it is possible that the colours were used by Parliament out of loyalty or to gain favour with the Crown. Another possibility is based on the availability and cost of dyestuffs. The most common dyeing agent in mediaeval Britain was woad, which was extracted from a natural plant. Woad produces blues and greens. Green was produced from the weakest solution and so dull green cloth was cheaper than any other colour. Whatever its origins green has become the colour of the Commons by custom stretching over 300 years. There is no standard shade of green; all graduations are used.

House of Commons Papers
House of Commons Papers include documents which result from the work of the House and its committees. The main categories of papers currently included are:

i) Select Committee papers (their reports and evidence etc.)
ii) Minutes of proceedings of Standing Committees
iii) Returns to Addresses by the House
iv) Estimates and Appropriation, etc. Accounts
v) Certain Annual and other Reports and/or Accounts required by Statute to be laid before the House
vi) House Returns

House Returns
Up to and including the 1986-7 session, the sessional returns of Public Bills, Select Committees and Standing Committees were published as separate House of Commons papers. Other returns relating to sittings, use of the closure, Private Bills and other matters were unpublished. From 1987 onwards all House returns have been published as a single House of Commons paper for each session.

Hybrid Bills
A hybrid Bill is a public Bill that affects the private interests of particular individuals or organisations in a different way from the rest of the public.

Courtesy of www.parliament.uk