Office of Public Sector Information

Last updated

The Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) is the body responsible for the operation of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) and of other public information services of the United Kingdom. The OPSI is part of the National Archives of the United Kingdom and is responsible for Crown copyright.

Contents

The OPSI announced on 21 June 2006 that it was merging with the National Archives. The merger took place in October 2006. The OPSI continues to discharge its roles and responsibilities from within the structure of the National Archives.

Controller of HMSO and Director of OPSI

The Controller of HMSO is also the Director of OPSI. HMSO continues to operate from within the expanded remit of OPSI. The Controller of HMSO also holds the offices of Kings's Printer of Acts of Parliament, King's Printer for Scotland and Government Printer for Northern Ireland.

By virtue of holding these offices OPSI publishes, through HMSO, the London Gazette , Edinburgh Gazette , Belfast Gazette and all legislation in the United Kingdom, including Acts of Parliament, Acts of the Scottish Parliament and statutory instruments.

The Controller of HMSO is appointed by Letters Patent to the office of King's Printer of Acts of Parliament. This office is separate from the functions of OPSI. Historically the role of King's (or Queen's) Printer extended to other official publishing responsibilities, e.g. the rights to print, publish and import the King James Bible and Book of Common Prayer within England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current holder of this office is Cambridge University Press.

History

HMSO was established as a new department of HM Treasury on 5 April 1786, when John Mayor was appointed as its first superintendent. [1] The creation of the office was a result of the advocacy of Edmund Burke for reforms of the corrupt, expensive and inefficient Royal Household and the Civil Service. Before the establishment of HMSO, the Crown would grant patents (exclusive rights) for the supply of stationery; the patentee could buy these supplies cheaply and then charge highly inflated prices. [2]

At first, HMSO was the agent for various government departments [2] but, from 1822, all government departments were required to buy stationery through the open competitions and tenders operated by HMSO. [1]

HMSO also took over as official publisher for both houses of Parliament from Hansard in 1882. [1] [3]

In 1889, HMSO was granted letters patent under which it was appointed as Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament ("printer to Her Majesty of all Acts of Parliament"). These letters patent also appointed the Controller of HMSO as administrator of the rights of Crown copyright. HMSO also took over publication of the London Gazette in the same year. [1] [2] [3]

In 1986 HMSO celebrated its bicentenary.

Since 1947, it has printed 86 million copies of The Highway Code . It is one of the biggest publishers in the world, having published 9,300 titles last year[ when? ] and holding 49,000 titles in stock. It produces nearly 600 pages of Hansard and other parliamentary papers overnight, as well as Bills, Acts, white papers, 2.3 million passports a year, 28.2 million pension and allowance books a year, and all sorts of other publications from the British Pharmacopoeia to guides to long-distance footpaths. In the 1980s, the Stationery Office also supplied 1,500 million envelopes a year (at a cost of £11 million) as well as 18 million ball-point pens and 188 million paper-clips. [4]

Most of its publishing functions were privatised in 1996 as a separate company known as The Stationery Office (TSO), but HMSO continued as a separate part of the Cabinet Office. Prior to 1996, it was the publisher of virtually all government material, such as command papers, legislation and official histories. After 1996, the Controller of HMSO remained Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament and retained the role of administering Crown copyright. [1] [5]

The privatisation was not the final stage in HMSO's changing role. As part of the implementation of the European Union directive on the re-use of public sector information, it was decided that there was a need for a dedicated body to be the principal focal point for advising on and regulating the operation of public sector information re-use. That new body, created in 2005, is the OPSI. [1] [5]

Published works

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Command paper</span> British government document

A command paper is a document issued by the UK Government and presented to Parliament.

The Dublin Gazette was the gazette, or official newspaper, of the Irish Executive, the British-controlled government in Ireland based at Dublin Castle, between 1705 and 1922. Like the London Gazette on which it was modelled, its strapline was "Published by Authority", and it published notices of government business, including proclamations, the granting of royal assent to bills, writs of election, appointments to public office, commissions and promotions in the armed forces, and awards of honours, as well as notices of insolvency, grants of arms or change of name. The most important notices were generally printed in both the Dublin and London gazettes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stationery Office</span> British publishing company

The Stationery Office (TSO) is a British publishing company created in 1996 when the publishing arm of His Majesty's Stationery Office was privatised. It is the official publisher and the distributor for legislation, command and house papers, select committee reports, Hansard, and the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes, the UK government's three official journals of record. With more than 9,000 titles in print and digital formats published every year, it is one of the UK's largest publishers by volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Government of Ontario</span> Canadian provincial government

The government of Ontario is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the Crown-in-Council; the legislature, as the Crown-in-Parliament; and the courts, as the Crown-on-the-Bench. The functions of the government are exercised on behalf of three institutions—the Executive Council; the Provincial Parliament ; and the judiciary, respectively. Its powers and structure are partly set out in the Constitution Act, 1867.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clerk of the Crown in Chancery</span> Senior British civil servant

The Clerk of the Crown in Chancery in Great Britain is a senior civil servant who is the head of the Crown Office.

The King's Printer is typically a bureau of the national, state, or provincial government responsible for producing official documents issued by the King-in-Council, Ministers of the Crown, or other departments. The position is defined by letters patent under the royal prerogative in various Commonwealth realms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records</span>

Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records is a legal and heraldic office in Scotland. The holder of this office is appointed by the Crown, and like the Lord Lyon King of Arms receives an annual salary. Lyon Clerk's duties include heraldic research, the preparation of papers, lectures and conducting and assisting with the preliminary business of application for a grant or matriculation of armorial bearings. This includes scrutiny of documents supporting the application. As Keeper of the Records the duties include maintaining the records of the Court of the Lord Lyon, overseeing the preparation of documents, allowing inspection of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland and other records, and issuing certified extracts when required. Until 1867 there was a Lyon Clerk Depute, and in 1986 Elizabeth Ann Roads became the first woman appointed to the office of Lyon Clerk and Keeper of the Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy in the Cook Islands</span>

The Cook Islands are a constitutional monarchy within the Realm of New Zealand. Under the Cook Islands Constitution, the Sovereign in Right of New Zealand has been Head of State of the Cook Islands since 4 August 1965. The Sovereign is represented by the King's Representative; as such, the King is the de jure head of state, holding several powers that are his alone, while the King's Representative is sometimes referred to as the de facto head of state. The viceregal position is currently held by Tom Marsters.

The Edinburgh Gazette is a newspaper of record of the Government of the United Kingdom, along with The London Gazette and The Belfast Gazette. It is published by The Stationery Office (TSO), on behalf of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Crown Agent is, ex officio, the Keeper of the Edinburgh Gazette.

The Belfast Gazette is a newspaper of record of the Government of the United Kingdom, along with The London Gazette and The Edinburgh Gazette. It is published by The Stationery Office (TSO), on behalf of His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarchy of Barbados</span> Constitutional monarchy as a system of government in Barbados from 1966 to 2021

The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Barbados.

Crown copyright is a type of copyright protection. It subsists in works of the governments of some Commonwealth realms and provides special copyright rules for the Crown, i.e. government departments and (generally) state entities. Each Commonwealth realm has its own Crown copyright regulations. There are therefore no common regulations that apply to all or a number of those countries. There are some considerations being made in Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand regarding the "reuse of Crown-copyrighted material, through new licences".

The King's Regulations is a collection of orders and regulations in force in the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, and Commonwealth Realm Forces, forming guidance for officers of these armed services in all matters of discipline and personal conduct. Originally, a single set of regulations were published in one volume. By the mid 19th century, there were separate editions of the Queen's Regulations for the Navy and the Army, and there is now one for each of the United Kingdom's armed forces.

The Letters Patent, 1947, are letters patent signed by George VI, as King of Canada, on 8 September 1947 and came into effect on 1 October of the same year. These letters, replacing the previous letters patent issued in 1931, reconstituted the Office of the Governor General of Canada under the terms of the Constitution Act, 1867, expanding the governor general's ability to exercise the royal prerogative, thereby allowing her or him to use most of the "powers and authorities" lawfully belonging to the sovereign and to carry out an increased number of the sovereign's duties in "exceptional circumstances".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of Ghana</span> Elizabeth IIs reign in Ghana from 1957 to 1960

Elizabeth II was Queen of Ghana from 1957 to 1960, when Ghana was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy. She was also queen of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states. Her constitutional roles in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of Trinidad and Tobago</span> Head of state of Trinidad and Tobago from 1962 to 1976

Elizabeth II was Queen of Trinidad and Tobago from the independence of Trinidad and Tobago on 31 August 1962 until the country became a republic on 1 August 1976. Her constitutional role as head of state was delegated to a governor-general, who acted on the advice of government ministers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mayor (brewer)</span>

John Mayor (1735-1817) was an English brewer and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1782. He was the first superintendent of HM Stationery Office from 1786.

The Crown Office, also known as the Crown Office in Chancery, is a section of the Ministry of Justice. It has custody of the Great Seal of the Realm, and has certain administrative functions in connection with the courts and the judicial process, as well as functions relating to the electoral process for House of Commons elections, to the keeping of the Roll of the Peerage, and to the preparation of royal documents such as warrants required to pass under the royal sign-manual, fiats, letters patent, etc. In legal documents, the Crown Office refers to the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Letters patent (United Kingdom)</span> Legal instruments issued by the monarch

Letters patent, in the United Kingdom, are legal instruments generally issued by the monarch granting an office, right, title, or status to a person. Letters patent have also been used for the creation of corporations or offices, for granting city status, for granting coat of arms, and for granting royal assent.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Office of Public Sector Information web site. "The History of Her Majesty's Stationery Office". Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 "William Sharp - Obituary - The Register". The Times . 28 March 2002. p. 43.
  3. 1 2 "Technology: A history of rights". The Guardian . Guardian Technology Pages. 6 September 2007. p. 3. The modern bureaucracy of Crown copyright dates from 1786, with the formation of a new Treasury department, His Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). In 1882, HMSO was made the official publisher to both Houses of Parliament, which still retain copyright on official proceedings. In 1889, Queen Victoria granted the controller of HMSO Royal Letters Patent as "printer to Her Majesty of all Acts of Parliament". The Letters Patent appointed the controller to hold Crown copyright. This grant and the office of the Queen's Printer continues today. In 1980, HMSO became a trading fund. In 2000, the government repositioned HMSO to regulate Crown copyright licensing. This role was taken on by the Office of Public Sector Information, now part of the National Archives.
  4. Richard Boston, "How the Government issues the tissue", The Guardian (London), 2 May 1986, p. 15.
  5. 1 2 "Her Majesty's Stationery Office" in Jonathan Law and Elizabeth A. Martin (eds), A Dictionary of Law, Oxford University Press, 2009, via Oxford Reference Online, accessed 5 November 2011.

Further reading