Corry Review: Defra Must Reform Itself to Protect Nature and Deliver Growth

Dan Corry thinks environmental regulation in the United Kingdom is failing. That’s at least one takeaway from Corry’s six-month, independent review of the 34 agencies and public bodies that collectively make up the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). In a 64-page report delivered last week, Corry states plainly that Defra and the system it helps oversee is not protecting nature and the environment while also acting as an impediment to UK growth, and puts forward 29 recommendations for reform. Government is understandably keen to act as it seeks to prioritise growth and curb the influence of infrastructure blockers.

Why Corry Conducted this Review

Corry was appointed in October 2024 to conduct an independent, internal review of Defra rules and regulations, a review that sits under Government's goal to position Defra as a driver of economic growth.

What Corry Calls For

Corry falls short of calling for major institutional reform, instead asking for “a radical repositioning and repurposing of environmental regulation.” Government, for its part, seems to agree, and Environment Secretary Steve Reed has already announced that nine of Corry’s 29 recommendations will be fast-tracked, mainly focussed on centralising and streamlining infrastructure permitting. The nine fast-tracked reforms are listed in full below.

techUK is also pleased the report highlights the need for a more digital Defra. The final section of Corry’s review puts forward four recommendations to improve delivery: appoint digital champions to help create a digital roadmap for Defra; create a permitting portal to improve application transparency; leverage the Defra Group AI Strategy 2030 to deliver use cases of AI (like analysing habitat change); and fast-track data sharing between regulators and the public. techUK has long advocated for digital tech as a solution to nature recovery and improved public service delivery, and welcomes the report’s recognition of technology’s potential on this front.

Defra = Department for Growth?

Many of the recommended reforms to Defra are welcome. There should no doubt be a more joined-up, systems level approach to protecting nature and combatting climate change. And few things will do more to protect nature than deploying the clean energy and climate tech in the time and scale needed to slow and reverse warming temperatures. But it’s also difficult to see how growth should be a chief focus for Defra; while it has a broad remit, it is first and foremost the Department for Environment. The UK is already one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, and approximately 16% of species are at risk of being lost from Great Britain. Asking Defra to first prioritise growth is akin to asking a health minister during a pandemic to do the same. Defra’s first order of business should be to defend nature, and Government should be careful not to shoehorn priorities into places they don’t necessarily belong. Corry doesn't say growth has to come at nature’s expense—a view shared at techUK—but someone in the room has to speak for the bats, and if that voice isn’t coming from Defra then where will it come from?

Fast-Tracked Recommendations

• Lead regulator: A single, lead regulator for major infrastructure projects will end the merry-go-round of developers seeking planning approvals from multiple authorities who often disagree with each other - speeding up approvals and saving businesses millions in time and resource. 
• Revamping environmental guidance: Rapidly reviewing the existing catalogue of compliance guidance, including on protecting bats, will identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity, or inconsistency.
• Streamlined permits and guidance: Speeding up work to update the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 will allow regulators to make more sensible, risk-based decisions on which activities should be exempt from environmental permits, in some cases removing them altogether for low-risk and temporary projects.
• Planning permit portal: Defra will convene the environmental regulators to set out the work required to upgrade their digital systems for planning advice, including a single planning portal for all agencies.
• New Defra Infrastructure Board: This will accelerate the delivery of major infrastructure projects by facilitating greater collaboration and stronger oversight within Defra and its arm’s-length bodies - unblocking barriers to development at an early stage.
• More autonomy: Trusted nature groups will benefit from new freedoms to carry out conservation and restoration work without needing to apply for multiple permissions at every step of a project. A pilot collaboration between Natural England and the National Trust will allow Europe’s largest conservation charity to cut down on the high volume of applications for consents, permits and licences they must currently submit.
• Green finance boost: A new industry-funded Nature Market Accelerator will bring much needed coherence to nature markets, boosting investment into our natural habitats and driving growth.
• Strategic policy statements for regulators: Clearer guidance and measurable objectives for all Defra’s regulators, starting with Natural England and the Environment Agency, will drive performance improvements and focus delivery on government priorities. Progress will be closely monitored and reported on publicly – increasing transparency and accountability so the public can be confident that regulators are supporting, not blocking, development and nature restoration.
• Rolling regulatory reform: A continuous programme of reform will be established to pinpoint rapid actions, quick wins, and longer-term areas for improvements to regulation.