Consultation on legislation: Command Papers

Before a Bill is drafted, the government may issue a consultation document (Green Paper) or a policy proposal (White Paper) and seek opinions from interested parties. These will usually be published as Command Papers, and may also be published on Government Department websites.

Example:
The Digital Economy Act 2010 took forward a number of recommendations requiring legislation from the White Paper Digital Britain which was also published as a Command Paper (Cm 7650) in 2009.