UK Anti-corruption Plan Debate

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UK Anti-corruption Plan

Rehman Chishti Excerpts
Thursday 18th December 2014

(9 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

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Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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The time for action is indeed now. The clauses in the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill, which have gone through this House and are now going through the other place, will put in place the central register for the first time. If we want to expand what is in the central register once it is set up, we should of course consider that.

Rehman Chishti Portrait Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)
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On tackling corruption and working with our international partners, does the Minister agree that people in certain developing countries need to ensure that everyone at every level pays their taxes, including Members of Parliament and members of Governments around the world? Only when they start paying their taxes and leading from the front will we really be able to tackle corruption.

Matt Hancock Portrait Matthew Hancock
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I thought that my hon. Friend was about to mention the Mayor of London.

My hon. Friend makes an important point. As he knows, this Government have taken a huge amount of action to ensure that taxes are low but are paid. We have raised about £5 billion more a year by tackling tax avoidance in the UK. We have brought in new techniques to do that. I am sure that other Governments around the world under financial pressures could benefit in the same way.