Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-05-25.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of potential steps to reduce corruption in Pakistan (a) in general and (b) within the political system.
Mr Desmond Swayne
As the Prime Minister recently confirmed at the UK-hosted Anti-Corruption Summit the UK and DFID are committed to tackling corruption with new measures to reduce opportunities, punish the perpetrators and empower people to demand that it stops. Corruption impacts on all aspects of public life in Pakistan. DFID Pakistan is working to support the Government of Pakistan, civil society and the private sector to address corruption by improving the business environment, creating more effective institutions and engaging citizens for better service delivery and accountability. By supporting reforms to the taxation sector, DFID Pakistan is seeking to support the Government of Pakistan to make it easier for tax payers to submit payments directly, thus reducing the opportunity for corruption. By supporting reforms to the management of public funds, and improving access to information DFID Pakistan seeks to further limit the opportunities for corruption by public officials. By supporting parliament, political parties and citizen groups, DFID and other cross-Government interventions ensure that the democratic institutions are more accountable and the state as a whole is more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Pakistani people.
