Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of protection of freedom of speech at universities, following the violent disruption at the King's College London Libertarian Society meeting on 5 March.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Hatred, discrimination and violence have no place on our campuses. Universities have a clear responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and to foster good relations between those who share protected characteristics, such as race or religion, and those who do not.
Free speech is protected in universities by law and plays a crucial role in generating rigorous debate, advancing understanding and allowing students to challenge conventional wisdom and discuss controversial subjects. Under the Education (No 2) Act 1986, universities have a duty to ‘take reasonably practicable steps to ensure freedom of speech for staff, students and visiting speakers,’ and this includes having a free speech code of practice. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 extends this duty to all providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS).
The OfS will have an important role to play in championing free speech. Under our proposals they would also have a range of levers to intervene where issues arise. A principle relating to freedom of speech is also included in the recently published regulatory framework for OfS, see attached.
This government remains committed to freedom of speech within the law – this does not include hate speech, incitement to violence or terrorism. We expect universities to take appropriate action, including involving law enforcement if necessary, in response to incidents such as those at Kings College on 5 March 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of the abolition of maintenance grants on university students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and (2) the report from the Sutton Trust, Home and Away, which found that students who cannot afford to live away from home while at university are disadvantaged in terms of social mobility.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The government published the attached equality analysis, in November 2015, which sets out the impact of the abolition of maintenance grants on protected and disadvantaged groups of students.
We are seeing record rates of 18 year olds, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, entering full-time higher education. Our new reforms to higher education will go further to ensure the system is offering more choice and value for money for all students.
We have increased support for full-time students’ living costs by 2.8% in 2017/18 to £8,430 a year for eligible full-time students from households with low incomes who live away from home and study outside London – the highest ever amount.
The Sutton Trust’s report provides helpful insight into the experience of students who choose not to relocate for study. This is why government’s review of post-18 education and funding will consider how we can encourage and support learning that is more flexible for students, including commuter study options.
The review will also consider what more can be done through the financial support available to widen access to university for disadvantaged students, including making sure that the right maintenance support is available
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the US in relation to its proposal to cut funding of the Fulbright Program by 47 per cent.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Fulbright programme provides important opportunities for education exchanges between the UK and the US. We have received no communication from the US government to inform us of any proposal to cut funding of the Fulbright Programme.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion by the Equality and Human Rights Commission review published on 3 April, Being disabled in Britain: a journey less equal, that disabled people are under-represented as elected political representatives; and when they intend to bring into force section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 requiring political parties to publish diversity data about their candidates.
Answered by Lord Nash
The number of Members of the other place identifying as disabled has increased in the recent election compared to that of 2015, which I welcome.
The Government is considering Section 106 of the Equality Act 2010 as part of its wider consideration of the report, ‘Women in the House of Commons after the 2020 election’, published by the former Women and Equalities Select Committee earlier this year. We will be responding to this report as soon as possible in the new Parliament.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of methods of recovery of student loans from overseas students.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Student Loans Company publishes an annual statistical first release on student loans in England that provides statistics on loan outlays, repayment of loans and borrower activity. The latest release is attached.
In addition to this, in February 2016 the Department published a Joint Repayment Strategy which includes an assessment of actions to trace borrowers and to recover loans where avoidance or evasion is identified. This publication isalso attached.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the comment by Lord Nash on 11 January (HL Deb, col 1953), when they will publish their response to the 2015 Department for Education consultation <i>Out of School Education Settings: Call for Evidence</i>.
Answered by Lord Nash
The Government remains committed to regulating out-of-school education settings. We received over 18,000 responses to the call for evidence and are taking great care in analysing them in order to ensure that the regulation we introduce to this diverse sector meets our aim. We want to ensure that action can be taken against settings which put children at risk, whilst not placing disproportionate burdens on the large number of settings that are providing a valuable service to their communities. We will respond to the call for evidence and set out next steps in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Younger of Leckie on 17 November (HL2972), whether they will ask the Higher Education Funding Council for England, in its role as regulator, to engage with the University of Oxford to ensure that their policies and procedures were implemented appropriately following reports of anti-Semitic incidents involving students which led to the resignation of a student club chairman in February.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Government condemns antisemitism wherever it occurs, including on university campuses. Universities and student societies need to be robust in tackling these kinds of issues. Universities are autonomous and have processes for dealing with concerns and complaints where they are raised, unless there are regulatory issues to be addressed.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) holds ongoing discussions (both formal and informal) with institutions, including the University of Oxford, on a regular basis. As the regulator, HEFCE has established procedures for following on up concerns raised about universities. No concerns have been raised with HEFCE about the implementation by the University of Oxford of its policies and procedures on this issue.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the attempt by protesters to disrupt a talk by an Israeli speaker at University College London on 27 October, what steps they are taking to ensure freedom of speech.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Open and robust debate is how students should challenge those they disagree with. There is no place for students that use intimidation or violence to attempt to shut down the free and open exchange of ideas.
Universities have a legal duty to secure freedom of speech for their members, students, employees and visiting speakers, and must have clearly set out policies for how they will ensure that this can happen. Universities also have a clear responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive environment and no staff or student should ever feel threatened or intimidated. It is also essential that they have clear policies and procedures to ensure that all students and staff can live and work without discrimination, intimidation or harassment. We expect universities to demonstrate how they will act swiftly to investigate and address hate crime, including anti-Semitic related incidents, reported to them.
We have asked the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), in their role as regulator, to engage with University College London (UCL) to ensure that their policies and procedures for events with external speakers are fit for purpose and were implemented appropriately in this instance. UCL have issued a statement on 11 November 2016 regarding the incident, which sets out that they have launched an immediate investigation.
In September 2015 we asked Universities UK (UUK) to set up a Harassment Taskforce. The Taskforce has recently published a report which sets out that universities should adopt a zero-tolerance approach to harassment and hate crime. The report has been attached to this answer. We must now ensure that the work of the Taskforce goes on to make a real difference to students across the country. The Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation has asked UUK to survey progress in six months and make sure universities are doing all they can to protect the safety and security of their students. We hope that the new guidelines for universities issued alongside the UUK Taskforce report will help universities in effectively tackling incidents such as these.