Get a head start on working with HH Global

When to first contact HH Global?

As soon as possible.

  • As a minimum, for numbered Command and House of Commons Papers you must obtain an official ISBN and the latest page furniture from the core supplier, HH Global. Ensure that, where Parliament requires print copies, these are delivered by HH Global (or infrequently, by arrangement with relevant colleagues).
  • To provide advance notice:
    • to ensure that HH Global has sufficient capacity to undertake your requirements in good time, particularly booking studio capacity for typesetting, additional formats, and inevitable amendments. Specifically:
      • whilst HH Global has staff working 24 hours (4 days a week), this does NOT mean that 24 hour turnarounds are always possible. Availability is subject to other work that has been booked in advance. As a guide, a standard Word to PDF conversion could take between 5-7 days, subject to page length and approvals
      • the time required to produce a paper is subject to the work and time involved for the specifics of each job and the final outputs requested. Your HH Global account manager will supply indicative timings based on your requirements of papers that may require extra time and careful planning, such as those with many pages, complex requirements, or tightly managed timelines
  • To start the production process:
    • you will need to complete and return a HH Global briefing form before HH Global can provide a quote. When the quote is agreed, you will need to supply HH Global with a matching purchase order before any booking can be made, or work started.

Contact HH Global as soon as possible at commandandhouse.team@hhglobal.com or +44 20 3968 4725

When to update HH Global?

  • As a minimum, keep in touch with HH Global and provide regular updates on:
    • when HH Global can expect the Word file of the paper
    • if your paper type changes; for example a House of Commons Paper becomes as Command Paper, as this will affect the paper’s page furniture
    • when checked/amended proofs will be returned to HH Global
    • any variation to the number of pages, especially if there are footnotes
    • confirmation of, or changes to, the laying date. HH Global should always be aware of the final laying date before it happens, even if you are only using them for an ISBN
  • Purchase orders and PO numbers: send these to any supplier promptly, and if there is a change to the original order inform the supplier, by email, as soon as possible. It is best practice to attach your purchase order to a covering email, and not just email a PO number.

Regular engagement with HH Global will help manage cross-government studio capacity for all parliamentary papers.

How to prepare a Word document to send to HH Global?

Some hints and tips:

  • Supply a Microsoft Word document: where documents are drafted outside of Word (for example in a shared Google sheet), ensure the final version is transferred to a Word document and not simply saved or exported as a Word document directly from another programme. This is particularly important to maintain the accessible functionality in the final Word file and to meet government accessibility requirements for documents published online.
  • Add blank pages if needed: each page in the Word document represents a side of a sheet of paper. Whether a page appears as a left- or right-hand page in the printed document depends on where it is placed. This means that you will need to include blank pages if, for example, each new chapter needs to start on a right hand page.
  • Check the pagination: cover pages should not be counted as part of the page numbering.  The title page is always page one and the copyright page, page two.  Blank pages are counted in the pagination but should not have the page number included on the page. It is important to ensure the numbering is correct, especially after amendments, as re-paginating will affect references to page numbers in the document.
  • Check table formatting: ensure table headings are kept on the same page as the table itself, and ensure headings do not appear alone at the bottom of the page. These can be amended using page breaks in Word.
  • Check page breaks: ensure breaks are only included where they need to be, especially after making amendments.
  • Making amendments to checked proofs: small amendments to a document can be done via annotations to the PDF proof itself. Larger-scale amendments, however, need to be made and finalised in a new Word document. This Word document should have all tracked changes and comments resolved and removed. Confirm with HH Global to ensure a common understanding, particularly if studio work could be required.
  • Follow HH Global’s step by step guides: these guides outline how to produce documents for laying and publishing:

What is an ‘elay’ PDF?

  • The ‘elay’ PDF provided by HH Global is a basic single page PDF with front and back covers included as single pages too. The PDF is created for the purpose of laying in Parliament. This type of PDF meets parliamentary laying requirements in the Journal Office Guide to Laying Papers and has no other purpose.
  • Do not publish elay PDFs as web accessible PDFs on government websites as elay PDFs are not web accessible. They do not include background functionality or screen reader compatibility and do not meet web content accessibility guidelines. If requested, HH Global can provide web accessible versions meeting government requirements. The naming convention for web accessible PDFs is always “ example.paper_accessible.PDF” and will be accompanied by an accessibility report.
  • 20pt versions of papers are only supplied as elay PDFs, or sometimes as printed copies as required, unless otherwise requested.

Also in Command and House Papers supplier services