Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what anti-bribery measures are in place for Foreign and Commonwealth Office-funded organisations working in North Korea in the light of the assessment in Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Index of corruption among North Korean public officials.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) projects in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are usually delivered through international partners such as the British Council, International Committee of the Red Cross or the Royal United Services Institute. Before we select an implementing partner we carry out relevant due diligence checks, which include, but are not limited to, obtaining assurances about: training provided to staff in relation to reporting bribery and corruption; how those concerns are shared with donors; and what policies and principles and/or procedures the organisation has in place to regulate its own conduct.

In line with standard FCO project requirements, detailed budgets are required for all projects and these are carefully checked to ensure both in-country and other costs are reasonable. Project implementers are required to provide quarterly financial reports and originals or copies of all invoices and receipts, as well as a Project Completion Report containing a detailed breakdown of all expenditure during the project period. The final payment on any project is only released after submission of a satisfactory Project Completion Report.