Recommendation 8

HM Government Acknowledged

Response: We recognise the importance of long-term approaches to achieving inclusive and transformative development in Pakistan. Working through programmes, policy interventions and political lobbying, the UK government’s efforts aim to tackle structural and systemic issues to deliver sustainable growth, stability and poverty reduction. Decisions on the types of programmes and their duration are based on the best available evidence at the time of design and fit with UK priorities and our overall ODA budget allocation. We are shifting to support the Government to self-finance an exit from poverty through more systems strengthening, technical assistance, influencing/advocacy and supporting the better use of data/evidence. Positive, long-term changes, supported by UK aid, are being achieved across the different thematic areas we work on, for example: supporting over 2 million children to gain a decent education since 2015 while supporting education institutions to ensure these gains are sustained; providing access to financial services to over 800,000 people and strengthening the wider financial sector; and enabling significant efficiency savings and tax collection in provincial governments to ensure Pakistan can self-fund its own development.