Tom is an associate fellow at IPPR.

Tom has worked on social policy related to mental health for over fourteen years - for an MP in Parliament, with the charity Mind, on secondment in central government, and now as a freelance consultant. He is driven by his own experience of mental health problems and a passion to tackle the inequality and injustice that is often both a cause and consequence of poor mental health.

His work has focused on the disadvantages many people with mental health problems face when it comes to issues such as employment, debt, benefits and poverty; as well as the impact these issues can have on people's mental health.

In 2018, after an 18 month secondment at the Department for Work and Pensions advising on mental health, Tom decided to gain some frontline experience and he retrained as a Mental Health Social Worker. He now splits his time between working in NHS mental health services, and collaborating with charities and think tanks on research and influencing around key areas of social policy.