OUR GLOBAL MOVEMENT NEWS 15TH SEP 2021 COVID, CONTRACTS, AND CONFLICT: THE YEAR CORRUPTION TOOK CENTRE STAGE CORRUPTION/ INTERNATIONAL/ UK CORRUPTION/ CORRUPTION IMPACT/ HEALTH/ PHARMACEUTICAL/ DEFENCE/ MONEY LAUNDERING/ POLITICS & MONEY/ UK POLITICS/ PROPERTY/ STAY INFORMED Sign up for updates on our work and corruption news from around the globe: DANIEL BRUCE Chief Executive Daniel joined Transparency International UK as Chief Executive in October 2019. He is an experienced senior leader in international charities, previously serving as Chief Executive of the press freedom and media development organisation Internews. Press Office press@transparency.org.uk + 44 (0)20 3096 7695 Out of hours: Weekends; Weekdays (17.30-21.30): +44 (0)79 6456 0340 RELATED PUBLICATION ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT AND ACCOUNTS 2020-2021 Publication Welcome to our Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic dominated the year for Transparency International UK as it did for so many organisations. It also underscored the importance of our work at a time when protecting the public’s resources, building integrity in the public and private sector and ensuring those who would exploit the crisis for their own gain do not go unpunished could not be more critical. READ MORE TRACK AND TRACE Publication The COVID-19 pandemic has required a rapid public health response on a scale and speed unseen in modern times. Whilst those procuring goods and services have sought to expedite the emergency response, we observe a pattern of behaviour whereby critical safeguards for protecting the public purse have been thrown aside without adequate justification. READ MORE PERMISSION ACCOMPLISHED Publication This report focusses on specific corruption risks in major planning decisions, an area where there is often a large amount of money at stake. It is also very contentious, with many new developments resulting in a net loss of social and genuinely affordable housing, which in many areas are in short supply. READ MORE FOR WHOSE BENEFIT? TRANSPARENCY IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROCUREMENT OF COVID-19 VACCINES Publication The COVID-19 pandemic has required an unprecedented public health response, with governments dedicating massive amounts of resources to their health systems at extraordinary speed. Governments have had to respond quickly to fast-changing contexts, with many competing interests, and little in the way of historical precedent to guide them. READ MORE What was the big theme dominating the headlines in the last year or so? The COVID-19 pandemic of course. I expect a degree of head-shaking at such an obvious question. Yet it was also 12 months in which corruption and lack of transparency achieved a troubling degree of attention. From the British Government’s COVID-19 response to ministers’ and MPs’ conflicts of interest; from the businesses caught up in bribery scandals to the devastating effect of corruption in defence forces around the world which triggered or aggravated conflicts or led to the total collapse of government. If 2020/21 was the year corruption took centre stage, its toll on the public was also more clear-cut than ever. Whether that was UK hospitals unable to access high quality or reasonably priced personal protective equipment (PPE) for their staff and patients, planning decisions seemingly based on who you know rather than the public interest, or millions fleeing their homes and countries when the safest place to be should have been at home. Against the backdrop of this extraordinary 18 months of modern history, we are launching Transparency International UK’s impact report for 2020/21 - an overview of our hard-won achievements through our robust research, advocacy and convening during the last financial year. I would encourage you to look at the impact report itself to get the full picture. But here is a taste of some of the highlights: Our seminal Track and Trace report revealed how personal protective equipment (PPE) and other Covid response contracts in the UK worth billions of pounds were allocated in seemingly partisan and systematically biased ways, raising red flags for corruption in 20% of all such spending. Cited in the House of Commons and extensively in the media, we hope it will eventually feed into the public inquiry into Coronavirus in the UK. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), the overseas territory of choice for those setting up companies to hide the proceeds of corruption, finally committed, after continued pressure, to introduce public beneficial ownership registers alongside other UK offshore financial centres. Shutting down a major hub for dirty money will significantly reduce Britain’s role as a facilitator of global corruption. In response to sustained pressure, the UK Government also announced it would introduce a series of reforms to corporate transparency in the UK. These include new measures tightening the rules for those forming companies in the UK, though this has still to find parliamentary time. Our Permission Accomplished report uncovered the risks of corruption in planning decisions in local government. Its recommendations have already been taken up by councils and local and national politicians around the country. Our evidence to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, England’s standards watchdog, fed into its much anticipated Integrity Matters 2 review, with many of our recommendations reflected in its interim finding For Whose Benefit, investigated the lack of transparency in COVID-19 vaccine trials and vaccine contracts. We are using the report to advocate for national governments to adopt and enforce legislation requiring registration and publication of trial results within a year. We are also calling for vaccine developers to publish trial protocols on a publicly accessible registry. The 2020 Defence Companies Index on Anti-Corruption and Corporate Transparency (DCI) measured the commitments to transparency and anti-corruption of the world’s leading defence companies. It revealed that nearly three out of four show little to no commitment to tackling corruption. There is still much to do. For instance, ensuring that the UK government lives up to its commitments to strengthening Britain’s defences against dirty money by setting aside parliamentary time to pass legislation on Companies House reform and a public register of the true owners of overseas companies that hold property here. Meanwhile, after a slew of lobbying and political integrity scandals we, with allies, must redouble efforts to secure meaningful reforms to the oversight and enforcement of the highest standards in public life. Through our global work, we will continue to challenge governments to reduce insecurity by improving transparency of defence governance; we will work globally and with national partners to prevent corruption undermining access to COVID-19 vaccines in the areas of greatest risk. Our new strategy launched earlier in the year outlines our approach to the challenges ahead, building on our successes and strengths. What is clear is that we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal despite other major world events. Our achievements this year show that our determined, evidence-based approach to preventing corruption and promoting transparency and integrity really does make a difference. I would like to thank you for your support and hope you will continue to back us in the years to come. FOLLOW JOIN Friends of Transparency International UK DONATE Donate Now Contact Us | Privacy Policy Registered Charity Number 1112842