November 2016

What: Disabled activists protest outside the headquarters of mental health charity Mind to declare “war” on the charity because of its support for DWP policies that they say have damaged people in mental distress. This came about after Tom Pollard, Mind’s policy and campaigns manager, joins DWP on secondment as a senior policy adviser. Paul Farmer (Mind’s chief executive) denies links with DWP but after the protest details were leaked by Mind staff, showing that the charity was applying to join a DWP framework that would allow it to bid for employment and health-related contracts, each of which could be worth between £2 million and £30 million a year.

Why significant: Raises concerns that a mental health charity would be linked to DWP, given the mental distress found to be caused by the benefits system.