The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed former No.10 Policy Unit chief Dan Corry to lead an internal review into regulation at the department.
The economist, who began his career as a civil servant before becoming a special adviser, will examine whether “the inherited regulatory landscape is fit for purpose”.
He will also develop recommendations “to ensure that regulation across the department is driving economic growth while protecting the environment”.
The review will explore whether Defra regulators – which include the Environment Agency, Natural England and Office for Environmental Protection – are equipped to drive economic growth, secure private sector investment and protect the environment.
It will also look to understand "the customer and stakeholder experience of regulation, including the impact on those who are regulated", and how efficient regulation is, "in particular whether the current regulatory landscape involves any duplication and/or contradiction, and whether there are opportunities to make improvements".
Last year, a report by the National Audit Office warned that “key bodies with regulatory functions are falling behind on aspects of their existing work”.
It said the department “does not have the information it needs on the effectiveness of regulation”, and found that Defra had a backlog of 63 regulatory post-implementation reviews, which are intended to gain insight into whether a piece of regulation is working as expected and whether it can be improved.
The department said the Corry-led review is part of wider work “to position Defra as a key economic growth department”. It follows the launch in August of a review of Defra’s Environmental Improvement Plan.
Defra said Corry” brings a wealth of experience to the role” as a former head of the No.10 Policy Unit under then-prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2008 and “an adviser in many government departments where he was involved in regulatory reform”.
Corry announced in May that he would stand down as chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital after 13 years leading the think tank.
He told Civil Society Media at the time that it was a “coincidence” that he was announcing his departure ahead of a general election, adding: “I want to go and do something different, I’m not sure what it will be, but we shall see.”
Corry will leave his position at NPC at the end of this month.