Help - using the search function

Basic Search

Enter text or a search string to search web pages within the site. Results are sorted by relevance.

Advanced Search

Use the options in the advanced search page to make your search more precise and hone your results.  We recommend you do not use the drop-down menus when searching for Judgments or Practice Directions.

Results Grouped by Type

We have taken the top 100 results from your search and grouped them under more detailed topic headings. These are derived from the content of the results. Click on one of the links on the right to narrow your results.

Search Syntax

In addition to using the advanced search feature to build your search by filling in the boxes, you can build the search yourself using the search syntax and techniques outlined here:

Quotation marks ""

Quotation marks are used to search for an exact phrase. For example, "planning permission" only returns results where the exact phrase "planning permission" is included and not results where both words are on the page but not next to each other as above.

The AND sign "+"

To find pages that have all the words you enter, not just some of them, add in an +

E.g. council + tax

The NOT sign "-"

Use this to find pages that have one word on them but not another word.

E.g. If you want information about 'tax' but don't want information on 'VAT' you would search for: tax - VAT

In general, the - symbol is helpful for focusing results when you get too many that are unrelated to your topic. Simply begin subtracting terms you know are not of interest, and you should get better results.

The wildcard symbols "*" or "?"

The * or ? symbol is used as the wildcard symbol. You can search for plurals or variations of words using a wildcard. It is also a great way to search if you don't know the spelling of a word. * can represent zero or more characters, while ? matches one.

E.g. If you wanted to search for 'legislation' but are unsure of the spelling, you would search for: legis* This search would look for all words beginning 'legis' and would return results for both 'legislation' and 'legislate'. NB. The Search feature also supports "stemming". That means that it will find terms like "singing" even if you only enter "sing".

The "OR" command

Use the OR command to search more than one search terms.

E.g. If you wanted to search for either of the two Councillors John Smith or Jane Jones, you would search for:

John Smith OR Jane Jones

Brackets "( )"

Use brackets to build complex queries.

E.g. If you wanted to search for results on housing benefit and disability benefit, you would search for: benefit AND (housing OR disability)

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