Universities: Free Speech

Baroness Brinton Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, we will have my noble friend Lady Royall next, and then the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton.

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The reason we have a world-leading higher education sector in this country is the excellence of the academic research and teaching that is carried out in the sector. It is important that we do everything that we can to safeguard that, for the good of our academics, individual students and our country as a whole.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the Office for Students has acted in a quasi- judicial capacity in this case and yet is also expected to work with universities to find evolving solutions to increasingly complex cases? Could the Minister advise how the Office for Students might balance its enforcement responsibilities with its advisory role to support the sector to navigate these and other issues?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The relationship between the functions that the noble Baroness outlines is not necessarily unusual for regulatory bodies. I am sure that the Office for Students in particular thinks carefully about it. Obviously, there has been a lot of thought on the role of the Office for Students with respect to freedom of speech, and I am sure that it is continuing to consider that.