Director General, Regeneration, Housing and Planning

Joanna Key

Biography

Joanna Key is Director General, Regeneration, Housing and Planning at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Joanna was previously Director of Growth and Infrastructure at HM Treasury and Director for Domestic Affairs at the Cabinet Office. Prior to the Cabinet Office, she spent three years working as a director at the Department for Exiting the European Union, leading the work on the legal and constitutional implications of the UK’s departure from the EU.

Joanna joined the UK Civil Service in the mid-1990s. Over her career she has worked on a wide range of issues including economic growth, Brexit, planning and housing, climate change and energy policy.

Married to a diplomat, she has lived, worked and travelled extensively in the Balkans and China, returning to the UK in 2015 after three years working in Beijing on urban policy and growth. She has a masters degree in economics.

Director General, Regeneration, Housing and Planning

The DLUHC board’s role is to advise and support ministers on the operational implications and effectiveness of policy proposals and help turn policy from ideas into actions and results.

Part of DLUHC’s leadership team and an executive member of its board, the Director General, Regeneration helps with that task.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Previous roles in government

  • Director for Legislation and Constitution