Ben Greener joined the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2017 and has worked in a range of roles across the department, from local government policy, to the Covid-19 Shielding Programme, and Housing and Planning.

Prior to that he spent ten years working in the field of community-led regeneration and local redevelopment strategies, working for a range of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and arms of UK government. He holds a first degree in History, an MSc in Cultural Management and a Postgraduate Diploma in Urban Regeneration and Planning.

Mr Greener is currently leading Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s work integration and cohesion policy, including:

UK Government Integrated Communities Strategy – leadership and close working across Government to drive forward work to support the government’s commitment to build strong integrated communities where people – whatever their background – live, work, learn and socialise together, based on shared rights, responsibilities and opportunities.

Local Integration Areas – engaging (and challenging, where needed) regional leaders and communities to identify shared priorities and commit to clear, long-term strategic visions to bring divided communities together in areas facing integration challenges.

Partnerships for People & Place – a new £5 million programme of work to pilot a new approach of policy design and delivery, focusing on place-based initiatives, which create better cross-government coordination. This is an exciting opportunity for local authority areas to be involved in a pilot project which will test a new way of working with central government to improve local outcomes. 

He also has extensive experience in social and economic regeneration, especially in post-industrial areas. He led for the UK National Lottery on the development of a multi-million pound fund to regenerate derelict and abandoned neighbourhoods, which resulted in funding for projects in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In addition, as part of his urban regeneration studies, he was invited to visit to the Ruhr Valley in Germany, to undertake research into the socio-economic policies used to revitalise the area.