Printing Acts of Parliament on Vellum — 20 Apr 2016 at 18:58

The majority of MPs voted to continue to print Acts of Parliament on vellum, a material made of calfskin.

The motion supported by the majority of MPs taking part in this vote was:

• That this House
• disagrees with the conclusion of the House of Commons Administration Committee’s First Report of Session 2015-16;
• welcomes the view expressed by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General that government funds would be available to pay for the continued use of vellum for printing Acts of Parliament;
• is unwilling to amend or resile from the terms of the Resolutions agreed by both Houses on 12 February 1849; and
• accordingly instructs the Clerk of the House to convey to the Clerk of the Parliaments that the House of Commons has withheld its consent to the use of archival paper rather than vellum for the printing of record copies of public Acts of Parliament.

A research briefing^[1] from the House of Commons Library states:

• Record copies of public Acts have been printed on vellum, a durable material made of calfskin, since 1849. They were handwritten on parchment rolls (usually made from goatskin) until then.

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• [1] Vellum: printing record copies of public Acts, House of Commons Library, May 2016

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