The Order Paper (also known as the Order of Business in the UK, the Notice Paper in Australia, and the Order Paper and Notice Paper in Canada) is a daily publication in the
Westminster system
The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of parliamentary system, parliamentary government that incorporates a series of Parliamentary procedure, procedures for operating a legislature, first developed in England. Key aspects of ...
of government which lists the business of
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
for that day's sitting.
In
bicameral legislatures
Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...
a separate paper is issued daily for each house of the legislature.
The Order Paper provides
members of the legislature with details of what will be happening in that house, including the questions that have been tabled for departmental question sessions and members who have been selected to speak. It also gives details of when and where the
standing committees
A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...
and
select committees will be meeting, and the list of debates to be held. Written questions tabled to ministers by members of the legislature on the previous day are listed at the back of the order paper.
British parliamentarians often wave their Order Paper during debates in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
.
See also
*
Meeting agenda
References
External links
Online publication of Australian Notice PaperOnline publication of Canadian Order Paper and Notice PaperOnline publication of New Zealand Order PaperOnline publication of UK Order Paper
Political terminology
Academic works about politics
Westminster system
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