£369 million
is spent on aid to Pakistan every year, £175 million of which goes on
education.
But,
following reports brought to Siobhain about bias and discriminatory content in
Pakistani textbooks, she arranged to meet with Government Ministers’ Lord Bates
and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to raise these concerns and seek reassurances that no taxpayer money has funded any discriminatory content.
At the
meeting, Siobhain was able to present a petition signed by 5,657 people calling
on the Government to ensure that our taxes do not fund any such discrimination.
The
Ministers present assured Siobhain that a review was conducted in 2017 that
found no content inciting religious hatred. Nevertheless, the resources
presented at the meeting would be used to update this review.
It is
imperative that no taxpayer money goes on funding discrimination or religious hatred
anywhere in the world.