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Hansard
HANSARD
Hansard is the official report of the proceedings of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was named after Thomas Curson Hansard, who first published verbatim reports of parliamentary debates in 1812. Since then, Hansard has become the standard record of parliamentary proceedings in the UK and is widely regarded as an important historical document.
Hansard was initially published as a private enterprise, with Hansard selling copies of his reports of parliamentary debates to members of the public. In 1909, the official status of Hansard was established, and it became the responsibility of the government to produce and publish the reports. Today, Hansard is produced by teams of reporters who transcribe the proceedings of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and it is widely considered to be a reliable and accurate record of parliamentary debates.
Hansard has been an important source of information and accountability in the UK, providing a record of the debates and decisions of parliament that is freely available to the public. It is also an important historical document, providing a glimpse into the political, social, and economic issues that have shaped the UK over the past two centuries.