Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill
Debate between Baroness Finlay of Llandaff and Baroness ChakrabartiWednesday 2nd November 2022
(2 years, 1 month ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Full debate Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 View all Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 30-II Second marshalled list for Grand Committee - (31 Oct 2022)
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Finlay of Llandaff) (CB)
For clarification, it seems that it is once for the Committee stage rather than each time we speak.
Baroness Chakrabarti (Lab)
I am grateful to the Deputy Chairman. I hope the Committee will forgive my ignorance; I hope that will help others as well.
I think noble Lords are really on to something here. I have found all the previous contributions compelling. They speak to aspects of my own experience. I have seen the way that funding can either promote or chill free speech, expression and academic inquiry. I understand that there are real challenges in this area. In particular, it is going to be very difficult to compel a corporation in any way to fund research that would be directly contrary to its interests. However, I do not think that we should totally give up on all of this; I do think that my noble friend Lord Sikka and the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, are on to something.