The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed former No.10 Policy Unit chief Dan Corry as one of two new non-executive directors.
Corry, who recently led an internal review into environmental regulation, is a former civil servant and special adviser. He was head of the No.10 Policy Unit during Gordon Brown's 2007-10 tenure as PM.
He joins the board along with Allison Ogden-Newton, who has been chief executive at environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy for the last decade. Both begin their appointments today, with their terms lasting for one year.
Corry is currently chief economist at the think tank the Future Governance Forum, having previously been chief exec at think tank and consultancy New Philanthropy Capital for 13 years.
Corry's recent review of regulation at Defra, published in April, found that many environmental regulations were "out of date and duplicative" but said a "bonfire" of regulations was "not the way forward". The review instead recommended a "targeted" programme of "streamlining and modernising" to ensure regulations are relevant to Environmental Improvement Targets, fit for the future and provide discretion to deliver good outcomes for nature and growth.
In a press release announcing the NED appointments, Defra said Corry would bring “extensive experience in public policy and economics from roles across government, think tanks and the private sector”
Defra described fellow new NED Ogden-Newton as an "experienced charity professional and social entrepreneur" and noted she was the founder of "breakthrough" social value think tank The Transition Institute. Before taking charge at Keep Britain Tidy, Ogden-Newton was chief exec at World Child Cancer and Social Enterprise London.
He previous work with government includes being an equal value advisor to the then-quango the Equal Opportunities Commission, and serving as a member of the Women’s Enterprise Taskforce at the then-Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.