Terms of Use

1. About the Service

Hansard Social (hansardsocial.co.uk) is a free, publicly accessible website that presents UK parliamentary debates from the official Hansard record in a modern, readable format. The service is provided as a personal project and public interest resource.

Hansard Social is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to UK Parliament, the House of Commons, the House of Lords, or any political party.

2. Parliamentary Content and Open Parliament Licence

All parliamentary debate content displayed on this site — speeches, contributions, written statements and related material — is drawn from the official Hansard record and is published under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Under this licence:

• Parliamentary content is available for free reuse, including for commercial purposes
• You must acknowledge the source: "Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0"
• The licence is granted by the Controller of His Majesty's Stationery Office on behalf of Parliament

Full licence terms: parliament.uk/open-parliament-licence

3. Acceptable Use

You may use Hansard Social for lawful purposes including:

• Reading, researching and sharing parliamentary debates
• Educational, journalistic and political research
• Personal and civic engagement
• Sharing individual speeches and quotes on social media

You may not:

• Use the site to harass, defame or threaten any individual, including Members of Parliament
• Misrepresent parliamentary statements, quotes or voting records
• Attempt to circumvent, damage or interfere with the operation of the site
• Use automated scraping tools to mass-download content without permission
• Reproduce the site's design, branding or software without written permission

4. Accuracy of Information

While we take care to accurately present parliamentary data, Hansard Social is provided on an "as is" basis. We make no warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information displayed. Parliamentary data is sourced directly from the official Hansard API but may contain delays or occasional inaccuracies.

For authoritative parliamentary records, always refer to the official Hansard website.

5. MP Performance Data

The like, dislike and approval statistics shown on MP profiles represent voluntary public engagement with speeches displayed on this site only. They are not official measures of parliamentary performance, public opinion polling, or electoral data. They should not be presented as such.

These metrics are provided for entertainment and civic engagement purposes and do not constitute any official assessment of any Member of Parliament's performance.

6. Defamation and Political Expression

Statements made by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons or House of Lords are protected by Parliamentary Privilege and cannot be the subject of defamation claims. Content displayed on Hansard Social consists of verbatim parliamentary records and is similarly protected.

However, any user-generated commentary or engagement on this platform (if such features are introduced) remains the responsibility of the individual user.

7. Intellectual Property

The Hansard Social name, logo, design, codebase and non-parliamentary content are the intellectual property of the site operator and may not be reproduced without permission. Parliamentary content is reproduced under the Open Parliament Licence as noted above.

8. Third-Party Links

This site contains links to external websites including Hansard, Parliament.uk, social media platforms and payment processors. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of these external sites.

9. Advertising

Hansard Social may display advertising via Google AdSense or similar networks to support the running costs of the site. Advertisements are clearly labelled and are not editorial content. Advertisers do not influence the presentation of parliamentary data.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hansard Social and its operator shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, this service.

11. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from these terms or your use of the site shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

12. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms of Use at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date. Continued use of the site constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

13. Contact

For any questions about these Terms:
📧 hello@hansardsocial.co.uk
🌐 hansardsocial.co.uk