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International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill

The accountability that derives from the information made available in the annual report is part of the accountability process that the Bill purports to put forward. In relation to certain comments that have been made, the Secretary of State was himself a major participant in the Commission for Africa. I see from its report that it was chaired by the Prime Minister, and that the Secretary of State for International Development—who is here today—and the Chancellor of the Exchequer also participated, as did Sir Bob Geldof and many other distinguished people. The report states:"““In this section we discuss participation, then consider key mechanisms of accountability: constitutional structures, parliaments and political processes””." That is precisely what we are doing now. That is part and parcel of the information that is to be made available in the annual report, and with which my hon. Friend’s amendment on corruption deals specifically. The amendment is specifically about providing information on corruption in order to assist the Government and the promoter of the Bill to achieve the objectives of transparency that are clearly set out in clause 6. I wait with interest—