Guides
How to search UK public papers
How to read the public desks and the files behind them.
01
How to read UK council minutes
Find a council on Institrace, open the papers it already publishes, and see what a Cabinet minute is. Full text needs a seat.
Read the guide02
How to use NHS board papers
Use the NHS desk to open a trust or board, read the paper count, and see why London Region is not NHS England.
Read the guide03
How to search Hansard and MPs
Open the Parliament desk for current members, Commons speeches and written questions. Lords debates are not held.
Read the guide04
How to search UK political donations
Search Electoral Commission donations, loans and lobbying returns. A donor name is not a person on this index.
Read the guide05
How to read public contracts and spend
Contracts Finder rows, payment lines, and why a notice is not a council paper. Empty spend means no file, not no payment.
Read the guide06
How to read company land titles
Company-owned titles in England and Wales, looked up by title number. A covenant word in a minute is not the register.
Read the guide07
How a public role attaches to a person
When a published directory name becomes a person on this index, and why a public role is a register fact, not a benefit.
Read the guide08
How a company number becomes a join
Why a printed company number attaches a record, and why a supplier name in a payment row does not.
Read the guide09
How to follow Town Deal and housing papers
Town Deal and regeneration papers live on the council that published them. A board is a minute, not a national catalogue.
Read the guide10
How to use Pack and the Institrace API
Pack is a cited slice of the joined public record for another model to read. It is not a finding.
Read the guide