Ben Murray is Policy and Research Manager for St Helens Council. He has previously worked in roles at the Local Government Association, and the National Association for Local Councils where he campaigned on behalf of local government on issues around finance, devolution, housing, skills, and public health. In his roles he also provided support to councils including advice and guidance and ran support programmes to help councils with their workforce gaps. In his current role Ben has been supporting the Council with a data led approach to policy formation and strategy development to tackle cross-cutting issues, including the current cost of living crisis.