Freedom.
Protection.
Being heard.

The founder’s purpose is to pursue changes that protect freedom and improve people’s lives, with particular attention to people whose experiences are often overlooked. The programmes address different issues; their connection is that shared purpose, not a claim that addiction and forced displacement are equivalent. Each will need its own objectives, evidence and way of assessing impact.

No. This project is starting from scratch in Manchester, England. A legal entity has not yet been established and no charitable registration is claimed. Civil Liberties Action remains a working name. The structure and status will be stated accurately as the organisation develops.

Day-to-day leadership. The intended model is for the founder to lead research, policy development, relationships and administration. The proposed division of responsibilities would give the founder room to carry out the work within a plan, budget and decision-making limits agreed with the board.

Independent oversight. An independent board would oversee CLA’s direction, finances, risks and accountability, retaining final organisational oversight rather than acting only as an advisory group. Its powers and the founder’s delegated responsibilities would need to be set out in the eventual governing arrangements.

Independent decisions about pay. Under the intended model, any decision about appointing or paying the founder would be made by independent, unconflicted board members. The founder would not take part in those board discussions or decisions. A paid role would still need to be justified, affordable and lawfully authorised. Read how paid work would be considered.

Agreed in principle, not yet in place. No board has been appointed. The legal structure, board composition, appointment process and detailed rules remain to be settled. No trustee or director appointment, employment contract, working hours or salary has been agreed for the founder.

If CLA is established as a charity in England and Wales, delegating decisions does not remove the trustee board’s responsibility. The Charity Commission recommends clear decision-making limits and reporting arrangements. Read the Commission’s decision-making guidance (CC27). Governance source checked 2 October 2026. This describes a planned model, not an adopted constitution.

The route is to offer published evidence, review a draft, discuss practical implications or suggest a policy question. It is not limited to politicians or donors, and you do not need to share personal circumstances or agree with every proposal. Explore the policy-development route.

Policy enquiries are open at [email protected]. The on-page builder is optional and browser-only: it helps prepare a draft but does not transmit anything. Please avoid sensitive personal information in an initial email; if lived experience is relevant, make first contact in general terms so an appropriate way of handling it can be agreed.

That is the intended design. This preview has a separate option for each programme, but neither takes payments. Before fundraising opens, the fundraising wording and accounting arrangements need to establish whether a gift is legally restricted to a programme or is an unrestricted gift expressing a preference. Those are not the same thing.

For charities in England and Wales, the Charity Commission explains that money raised for a specific project or aim becomes restricted and must be spent on what the appeal states. Read the Commission’s fundraising guidance.

Programme budgets and eligible activities have not been agreed. Possible budget items include research, specialist advice, producing briefings and organisational costs. Defined paid work, including the founder’s time, may also be considered; no role, hours or salary have been agreed.

Before receiving money, each programme page should state what it will fund and whether the budget includes a share of administration, payment-processing or other support costs. This website makes no promise that every pound will be spent directly on front-line activity.

Possibly, including on a part-time basis. Future budgets may include reasonable pay for defined research, policy-development and organisational work, including work undertaken by the founder. Any role would need to be justified by the work required, affordable and supported by any required legal authority. Under the intended governance model, independent, unconflicted board members would decide on any appointment or payment involving the founder, without the founder taking part in those board discussions or decisions. No board has been appointed, and no paid appointment, hours or salary have been agreed.

If CLA is established as a charity in England and Wales, paid staff and trustees have distinct responsibilities. Employing a trustee requires a suitable legal power or Charity Commission authority, as well as proper management of conflicts of interest. The agreed direction is day-to-day founder leadership with independent board oversight; whether the founder would hold any trustee or director position remains undecided. Sources: Charity Commission: employing paid staff and employing a trustee or connected person. Staffing sources checked 2 October 2026. General information, not an approved employment arrangement.

No treatment service has been established as part of this proposal. The planned programme concerns campaigning on drug policy and addiction. Any future treatment, referral or support service would need its own confirmed arrangements; this website should not be used for individual medical advice.

No. The founder's proposal concerns eligibility for disability protection, not permission to use illegal drugs at work, breach drug-driving law, or disregard lawful workplace safety requirements. It does not propose immunity from disciplinary action or dismissal.

Under the existing disability framework, employers must consider reasonable adjustments where the duty applies. Where unfavourable treatment results from something arising from a disability, section 15 includes a test of whether the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This is not a general defence to every kind of discrimination, and calling something a safety issue does not automatically make dismissal lawful. Sources: Equality Act, section 15, Acas: objective justification and HSE: reasonable adjustments.

HSE guidance describes support for employees with drug or alcohol problems alongside risk management, including a possible temporary move away from safety-critical duties. That is different from assuming that asking for help makes someone unsafe. Read HSE's guidance on supporting employees.

Prescription status alone does not determine safety: prescribed and over-the-counter medicines can also make driving unsafe. In Great Britain, drug-driving offences include driving while unfit and exceeding specified drug limits, subject to the applicable medical defence. Read GOV.UK's drug-driving guidance.

The proposal includes current addiction, recovery and past addiction. Section 6(4) provides for past disability under the existing Act, but how a reform would apply to past addiction needs legal review. Read the disability definition and past-disability provisions. These notes explain the proposed scope and relevant current law, not anyone's individual legal position. Safety sources checked 1 October 2026.

The legal structure remains undecided. In England and Wales, charities can campaign in support of their charitable purposes, but cannot have a political purpose in its own right or support a political party or candidate. The actual proposed activities need review before charitable status is assumed. Read the Charity Commission’s guidance.

Who is responsible. Civil Liberties Action is a project being developed by Benjamin Collinson in Manchester, England, and is not a registered charity or separate legal entity. Benjamin Collinson is currently responsible for this website and the policy mailbox. Privacy questions can be sent to [email protected].

Website hosting. This website is intended to be hosted on Cloudflare Pages. The site code contains no advertising pixels, mailing-list service or payment processing, and it does not use browser storage to retain enquiry drafts or donation selections. Cloudflare nevertheless processes technical information when visitors request the site, which can include IP addresses, traffic-routing data and system-configuration information. CLA uses this processing for the legitimate interests of making the website available, secure and reliable. Read Cloudflare’s privacy policy and Cloudflare’s data-processing information.

The enquiry builder. The builder works in your browser. Text entered into it is not transmitted to CLA, and the page has no upload facility. Copying or saving a draft creates a copy under your control. The website itself does not register an enquiry: an enquiry reaches CLA only if you send an email.

Policy email. If you email [email protected], CLA will use the contact details and content you provide to read, respond to and manage the enquiry, and where relevant to develop or review policy work. For ordinary correspondence, CLA relies on legitimate interests in receiving relevant enquiries, corresponding with people who contact the project and keeping proportionate records of that work. The mailbox is provided through Zoho Mail. Zoho publishes information about its Mail privacy and data-centre arrangements, privacy practices and service-specific sub-processors.

Sensitive information. You can contribute to policy development without disclosing health information, political affiliation, voting intentions or other sensitive personal information. Please do not send medical records, detailed sensitive information or information about another person in an initial email. If lived experience or other sensitive material is genuinely relevant, contact CLA first in general terms. If sensitive information is sent without being requested, access will be limited and it will be deleted where it is not needed.

Retention. Ordinary policy-enquiry emails will normally be kept for up to 12 months after the last substantive correspondence. They may be kept longer where there is a specific reason—for example, an ongoing piece of policy work, a dispute or a necessary record of a material contribution. Any longer retention should be limited to what is needed and reviewed.

Sharing and international processing. CLA does not sell or rent personal information. Information may be processed by the service providers needed to host the website and provide email, and may be shared where necessary to handle the matter you contacted CLA about or where the law requires it. Cloudflare operates a global network and may process technical data internationally; its data-processing documentation describes its transfer safeguards. The CLA mailbox uses Zoho’s European service, while Zoho publishes information about the group entities and sub-processors involved in providing its services.

Your rights. Depending on the circumstances, data-protection law may give you rights to ask for access to your personal information, correction, deletion or restriction, and to object to processing based on legitimate interests. To exercise a right or ask a privacy question, email [email protected]. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Other websites and future services. External reference links open other websites with their own privacy information. No mailing list or payment service is connected to this site. If CLA later adds forms, analytics, newsletters, fundraising or other services, this notice will be reviewed before those uses begin. Privacy information reviewed 2 October 2026 against ICO guidance on the right to be informed.