The Attorney General and the Solicitor General, the Law Officers of the Crown (together with the Advocate General of Scotland), are the chief legal advisers to the Government and are responsible for all crown litigation, overseeing the work of the Crown Prosecution Service (incorporating the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office), the Serious Fraud Office and other bodies. The site's Publications section includes various documents on aspects of prosecutions which are known collectively as the Attorney General's Guidelines, covering such matters as disclosure of material, plea bargains, and the acceptance of pleas.

The Audit Commission is responsible for ensuring that money spent on public services in England (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own separate bodies), in the areas of local government, housing, health, criminal justice and fire and rescue services, is spent effectively. It publishes reports of various kinds, including Audit Commission Reports (listed back to 1984, in full text 1999 onwards), Inspection Reports (2000 onwards) and Joint Reviews (1999 onwards). Also available are recent annual reviews and annual reports.

The Cabinet Office has been described as the "head office" of government. It performs a variety of functions in support of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, including some aspects of civil service staffing management and the reform of the civil service. A section of the site is devoted to relevant codes of conduct, including the Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code, the Ministerial Code, and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.

The role of the Commissioner for Public Appointments is to regulate, monitor, report and advise on appointments made by UK ministers and by members of the National Assembly for Wales to the boards of around 1100 national and regional public bodies. The post was created in response to the publication in 1995 of the Nolan Committee's first report on Standards in Public Life (Cm 2850). Publications on the site include annual reports 1997-98 onwards, a code of practice, a complaints leaflet and other guidance.

The Commissioner regulates the process by which many of the public appointments in Northern Ireland are made. The post was created in 1995 in response to the publication of the Nolan Committee's first report on Standards in Public Life (Cm 2850). Publications on the site include annual reports 2000/2001 onwards, a code of practice, a complaints leaflet and other guidance.

Communities and Local Government is a central government department with responsibilites which include regional and local government, planning, building regulations, housing, equality policy, homelessness, social exclusion, and fire and rescue services. Site content includes consultation papers, circulars, statistical reports, research reports and legislation.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was created on 5 June 2009 by a merger of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). Its responsibilities include productivity, enterprise, business relations, business law, competition, consumer policy, employment regulation, further and higher education, and science. Many sections of the site, for example those on the Companies Act 2006 and on competition and employment matters, have information on relevant legislation, with links to texts of Acts, regulations and commencement orders.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs ceased to exist on 9 May 2007 when its functions were transferred to the newly created Ministry of Justice, but its web site has been retained for archive and information purposes. It has information and materials relating to the administration of justice, including: major reports and reviews, statistics, and consultation papers, and general information regarding people's rights, the courts, and constitutional policy.

The responsibilities of DCMS include culture, sport and tourism in England, and some aspects of the media (eg broadcasting) throughout the UK. Information on the site relates to these topics and others including alcohol and entertainment (licensing laws) and the regulation of gambling and the National Lottery. There are links to relevant bills and legislation, press notices, consultation papers, and research and statistical analysis.

The Department for Education is responsible for education and children's services. It was formed on 12 May 2010, replacing the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The site has current consultation documents, reports, speeches and press notices. There are links (via "Publications") to departmental annual reports 2003 onwards, press notices 1998 onwards, and a range of other statistical and departmental publications, all downloadable. Links are also provided to the Department's separate TeacherNet site, which includes guidance on the law and related documents for schools, and to many other education-related bodies.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in England. Its web site has a wide range of information and documents including guidance, forms, consultations, reports, statistics, legislation and circulars. Site content relating to broad topics may be accessed via the subject headings at the top of each page, but given the size and complexity of the site, the detailed site map (an alphabetical list of narrow topics) and the search facility are particularly useful in locating individual documents. The links provided to other environment-related sites are also extensive.

The Department for Transport is responsible for the English transport network and for transport matters in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which are not devolved. Much of the site content which is of particularly legal interest is to be found within "Policy, Guidance and Research", in the "Roads and Vehicles" section. Documents accessible there under "Traffic and Parking Management" include traffic advisory leaflets and those 'Roads' circulars which remain in force. Under "Motor Insurance and Uninsured Driving" are the Uninsured Drivers Agreement and the agreement "Compensation of Victims of Untraced Drivers".

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for employment, social security and pensions in the UK. The Publications section includes the Decision Makers' Guide, the Social Fund Guide and other technical guides and manuals aimed at advisers and other professionals. In addition there are collections of current legislation on social security (commonly known as the 'Blue Volumes') and child support (the 'Orange Volumes'), reported decisions of the Social Security and Child Support Commissioners and Upper Tribunal Judges1991 onwards, and Neligan's Digest of reported social security decisions. Other content includes press releases, recent consultation documents and many other publications. There are extensive links to government and other related sites.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created in October 2008 to take responsibility for the government's energy policy and climate change mitigation policy. Its web site includes news, statistics, consultations and other publications. A Legislation section provides information on both legislation and White Papers, with links to texts of these and other relevant background documents.

The Department of Health is responsible for government policy on health, social care and the National Health Service in England. (In the rest of the UK these responsibilities fall to the devolved governments.) The web site has policy, guidance and consultation documents, statistics, news stories and press releases. Letters and circulars (including both current and obsolete circulars, 1995 onwards), together with information on health legislation (with links to texts), may be found in the "Publications and Statistics" section.

The Directgov site, produced by the Central Office of Information, details government information and services which are available online. It includes an A-Z index of central government with listings for over 1,000 government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. There is also an A-Z index of local authorities with links to all UK local councils. It is possible to browse the site by topic or audience group.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) promotes the interests of the UK abroad. Much of the site's legal content, particularly an extensive section devoted to information on treaties, is to be found within "Our publications" under the "About us" tab. Publications include various annual reports; consultations; historical papers; research and analytical papers; treaty texts; and all treaty command papers 2002 onwards. Within "Travel advice by country" under the "Travel & living abroad" tab there is a set of country profiles, providing general overviews of the countries of the world. Other site content includes the London Diplomatic List, an alphabetical list of all foreign representations in London.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), a non-ministerial department whose main responsibility is the collection of taxes, was created by the merger on 18 April 2005 of the former Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise. The site has three main areas: for “individuals and employees”, “employers” and “businesses and corporations”. Each section includes relevant forms, guidance, manuals, links to legislation and other documentation.

The Treasury is responsible for the government's financial and economic policy. Its web site includes budget and pre-budget documents (the Chancellor's budget speeches, budget and pre-budget reports, and press notices) both current and archived from 1997 onwards. It also has a "Consultation & Legislation" section with information on consultations and on Finance Bills from 2000 onwards.

The responsibilities of the Home Office include the reduction and prevention of crime; anti-social behaviour; immigration and passports; drugs policy; counter-terrorism; and police. Its web site has extensive information, documents and statistics relating to all these areas. Home Office Circulars 2003 onwards are accessible within "About us". The Police section contains legal information relating to police powers (PACE codes of practice) and traffic law enforcement devices.

The Information Asset Register (IAR) lists information resources held by UK government departments, agencies and other organisations, concentrating on unpublished resources. Direct access to the IAR is provided from this page of the OPSI web site.

The London Gazette (established 1665), Edinburgh Gazette and Belfast Gazette are the official newspapers of record of the United Kingdom, recording and disseminating a wide range of official, regulatory and legal information. Legal content includes insolvency notices and certain Orders in Council. The free online archive provides access to Gazettes 1665 onwards.

The Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007, taking over all of the functions (concerning justice, rights and democracy) of the former Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) together with some from the Home Office (criminal law and sentencing, reoffending, prisons and probation) and from the Cabinet Office. Much relevant information remains on the archived DCA web site. Content now on the Ministry's site includes, in the Procedure Rules section, the full texts of the Civil Procedure Rules, the Criminal Procedure Rules and the Family Procedure (Adoption) Rules. The Publications section includes policy and research reports, information on relevant legislation currently before Parliament, and statistics.

The News Distribution Service for Government and the Public Sector, part of the Central Office of Information, provides news releases and information from government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the province's devolved legislature. It assumed control of Northern Ireland from the UK government's Northern Ireland Office on 8 May 2007, when a period of direct rule was brought to an end and devolution resumed. Its web site has the text of the Ministerial Code, Executive statements, news releases, and links to web sites of individual NI government departments.

The Northern Ireland Office is the UK government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. Documents available on the site relate largely to constitutional and security issues, including law and order, policing and criminal justice. They include reports, guidance, and both draft and enacted legislation.

OCPAS was set up in 2004 to regulate and monitor the way in which ministerial appointments are made to the boards of many of Scotland's public bodies. Publications on the site include annual reports, a code of practice, a complaints leaflet and other guidance.

The Leader of the House of Commons is the Cabinet minister responsible for arranging government business, including the introduction of government Bills, in the House of Commons. Site content includes details of parliamentary business and news. There is a link to the Prime Minister's Office site (Number10.gov.uk) for information on the government's legislation programme.

The Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) consists of a specialised team of about 60 lawyers based in Whitehall, with support staff, whose main work is drafting government Bills for introduction into Parliament and related Parliamentary business. Forming part of the Cabinet Office, it was until recently known as the Parliamentary Counsel Office (PCO). There is information on the OPC's role, organisation, drafting techniques, and its history.

Three originally separate bodies, the Court Funds Office and the Offices of the Official Solicitor and the Public Trustee, were merged on 1 April 2007 to create this new organisation. There are site sections for each of the three offices, all with relevant legal content including links to legislation, practice directions and practice notes.

This site, administered by TSO, covers all Command Papers and departmentally sponsored House of Commons Papers (HCPs) from 17 May 2005 (the beginning of the 2005/06 parliamentary session) to the present. Texts are provided in pdf format. There is also a selection of earlier Command Papers, HCPs and other key government papers going back to the 2002/03 session. Command Papers in particular are often important as providing the background to particular pieces of legislation, including as they do statements of government policy which are familiarly known as "White Papers".

The Privy Council Office provides a secretariat to the Privy Council and acts as the Judicial Committee Office to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC). Much of its day-to-day work is concerned with the affairs of bodies incorporated by Royal Charter and of certain UK statutory regulatory bodies, mostly within the medical professions. The site contains a chronological list of all Charters granted since the 13th century. Other content includes an alphabetical list of all current Privy Counsellors, and lists (without text) of all Orders in Council made since October 2000. The JCPC now has its own separate web site but Privy Council judgments up to August 2009 remain in the Judicial Comittee section of this site.

Public Bodies is an annual directory which provides information on public bodies sponsored by the UK government. All editions from 1998 to the current one may be downloaded from this page of the Civil Service web site.

The Scottish Government, which was called the Scottish Executive until September 2007, has responsibilities under devolution legislation which include health, education, justice, rural affairs and transport. The web site contains full text Scottish Executive/Government publications 1983 onwards (selective coverage for the earliest years), current and closed consultation documents 2002 onwards, and an extensive set of links to Scottish government and public bodies. Access to Bills and Acts is via links to the Scottish Parliament and Scotland Legislation web sites.

This is a selective collection of archived UK central government web sites developed by the National Archives, launched on a modest scale in September 2003 and since then greatly expanded. The chosen sites, now totalling more than 1500, are grouped together in eleven broad categories, including "Government, politics and public administration" and "Public order, justice and rights". Most of the sites are collected as weekly or six-monthly snapshots.

The Wales Office, created on 1 July 1999 as successor to the Welsh Office, is the Whitehall department through which the Government liaises with the devolved administration in Wales. Documents on the site include press notices, reports and speeches 1999 onwards. There is information on recent England and Wales legislation which has specific provisions or implications for Wales, with links to texts on the OPSI site.

The Welsh Assembly Government is the devolved government for Wales. Areas of responsibility include the economy, health, education and local government. Originally an executive body of the National Assembly for Wales, its functions were formally separated from those of the Assembly by the Government of Wales Act 2006. Much of the site content is arranged under broad topics, eg health and social care, transport, etc. Other sections provide news, publications, and details of current consultations. The Legislation section provides access to legislation both draft and in force, including Assembly Measures, general Statutory Instruments (via a link to the OPSI site), local Statutory Instruments, and non-Statutory Instruments (eg codes of practice, compulsory purchase orders).

Wired-GOV provides an alerting service for news articles from official UK government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies. It was established in 2001 and has a searchable archive going back to 1999. Additional services including a personalised e-mail alert service are available on registration, which is free to UK public service subscribers but charged to private sector subscribers.