§ 27. Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the level of corruption in British Government aid programmes. [157670]
§ Clare ShortMy Department continuously reviews and assesses mechanisms for the delivery of, and accounting for, UK development funds in order to minimise the risk of corruption.
I am confident that our carefully designed programme management systems, supported by Internal Audit and National Audit Office scrutiny, are sufficiently robust to prevent or detect fraud or corruption.
In developing countries, my officials work closely with Governments, civil society and other development agencies to improve the quality of public sector financial management reform. These measures help to reduce the risks. In addition we may call for special programme management, audit and accounting systems in order to satisfy ourselves that funds are used for the intended purpose.