The economist Dan Corry has been appointed to carry out an internal review into the regulation and regulators at the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).
The review will examine whether the inherited regulatory landscape is fit for purpose and develop recommendations to ensure that regulation across the Department is driving economic growth while protecting the environment.
The review will explore:
- Whether Defra regulators are equipped to drive economic growth, secure private sector investment and protect the environment
- The customer and stakeholder experience of regulation, including the impact on those who are regulated.
- The efficiency of regulation, in particular whether the current regulatory landscape involves any duplication and/or contradiction, and whether there are opportunities to make improvements.
The review is part of wider work to position Defra as a key economic growth department with regulatory reform to:
- Boost private sector investment into the water sector, creating tens of thousands of jobs and speeding up the delivery of infrastructure to clean up water pollution and enable economic growth.
- Transform regional economies across the country through the development of a circular economy by reusing more existing materials, driving down waste across key sectors such as construction and packaging, reducing import costs for businesses and cutting carbon emissions.
- Develop pragmatic solutions that are needed to build the homes and infrastructure this country needs, while protecting and improving environmental outcomes.
- Strengthen economic resilience in communities that need better flood defences.
- Drive rural economic growth by cutting red tape for farmers and boosting Britain's food security.
Dan Corry brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as Head of the No10 Policy Unit under former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and adviser in many Government departments where he was involved in regulatory reform.
It comes as yesterday (14 October) the government hosted the International Investment Summit with 300 industry leaders, where the Prime Minister set out billions worth of investment deals, as well as plans to tackle unnecessary regulation. This is part of the government's growth mission to create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off.
