This page includes
information about Hansard production methods, publication formats and
processing times.
Search all Hansard files on
the Hansard
Home Page.
Production methods
Hansard production involves firstly
converting digitally recorded sound to text, using a variety of up-to-date
computer software and digital equipment.
Careful editing of the text is then carried
out to ensure that this substantially verbatim report of Members’ speech
conveys clearly to the reader what was said in the Chambers while remaining
accurate to the audio.
In order to ensure online publication is
underway as soon as possible, production starts during the ongoing sitting as
soon as sufficient audio is available to begin the process.
The audio is also made available online both
during and after the sittings as Listen Live and Listen Again
facilities.
Publication formats
Rolling Hansards and Early Publications
During a sitting ‘Rolling Hansard’ files are
uploaded to the Tynwald website as soon as sufficient text has been edited. The
files continue to be replaced regularly as more text becomes available.
For guidance, the first section of the
Rolling Hansard would normally be published within two to three hours of the
sitting commencing. The time taken for the first and subsequent uploads varies
according to the sequence, length and complexity of sittings.
For some long Tynwald sittings, the Hansard
texts are split temporarily into morning, afternoon and evenings sessions to
allow for earlier publication of Hansard for each session. These documents are
labelled ‘Early Publications’ and are regularly updated and replaced in the
same way as Rolling Hansards.
The Rolling Hansards and Early Publications
are all fully edited and constitute an authoritative record of the relevant
proceedings.
Early Written Answers
Tynwald Early Written Answers are first added to
the website after 2.30 p.m. on the first day of the sitting, in the format
provided by Departments.
House of Keys Early Written Answers are first added
to the website after 11.00 a.m. on the day of the sitting, in the format
provided by Departments.
Final Hansard reports
The final part of the
process is to collate all Rolling Hansards, Early Publications and Early
Written Answers into a fully formatted, final Hansard report, one report for
each sitting day.
These completed Hansard
reports replace the corresponding Rolling Hansard, Early Publication and Early
Written Answers files on the Tynwald website.
Hyperlinks to Hansard reports
The web address (URL) for
any early version of the Hansard report is temporary only and will be replaced
with a more permanent URL once the final Hansard report is published. Please
note therefore that any hyperlinks created to early versions will be broken as
soon as a more up to date version is published.
The URL web
address for all final Hansard reports will remain unaltered and correct for the
purposes of creating more permanent hyperlinks.
Publication timescales
The first hour of any Tuesday House of Keys or Tynwald sitting is normally published by 5.30 p.m. that same day, initially as a Rolling Hansard.
The Rolling Hansard will continue to be updated thereafter until the whole sitting is completed.
Publication targets for the
completed final Hansards are as follows:
House of Keys – before 5 p.m. on Friday the same week;
Legislative Council – before 5 p.m. on Friday the same week;
Tynwald Court, first day – before 5.30 p.m. on Monday the following week.
If Tynwald Court sits for
two or three days, the reports for the remaining days’ sittings will be
published as Rolling Hansards and completed as quickly as possible, while Hansard
publication continues to meet targets for subsequent House of Keys and
Legislative Council sittings.
Hansard reports of Committee oral evidence
Hansard reports are
produced of Committee public hearings of oral evidence, with the aim of
publishing them online within 10 working days of the hearing.
Hansard Appendix
Additional information
promised by a Member during a sitting which is then circulated at a later date
is published to the Hansard area of the Tynwald website as a Hansard Appendix
and labelled with the relevant Chamber, sitting date and Question or motion to
which the information applies.