Universities: Free Speech

Lord Alton of Liverpool Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right that part of the ruling was about the specifics of the University of Sussex’s trans and non-binary policy and its failure to recognise the requirements on the university to ensure freedom of speech and academic freedom. I hope that all universities will look carefully at this ruling and will note its second element, which was around the governance to consider issues such as this. All universities need to be clear that these important decisions, and sometimes these challenging conflicts, need to be considered at the highest possible level and with the strongest possible governance.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

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

We will take the noble Lord, Lord Alton.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, will the Minister ask the Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson, to share with her a letter that was sent on 20 March by 10 of us, including Professor Steve Tsang, Charles Parton and Professor Michelle Shipworth—who was banned from teaching a course at University College London, after complaints from students from the People’s Republic of China that she had shown slides detailing slave labour in Xinjiang? Has the university sector become too reliant on funds from the PRC? Will the Minister read the warnings in the 2023 Intelligence and Security Committee report and agree to meet with the signatories of that letter?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I have met with some of the signatories of that letter. The measures we are implementing as part of the wider freedom of speech Act will further strengthen protections from overseas interference in academic freedom, with the new complaints scheme offering focused routes for concerns to be raised. The Government expect universities to be alert to a range of risks when collaborating with international partners, for example, and to conduct appropriate due diligence to comply with legislation and regulatory requirements, including potential threats to freedom of speech and academic freedom. We will keep all our protections under review, including confirming final decisions on the provisions relating to the overseas funding measures in the freedom of speech Act. It is enormously important that that type of academic freedom and research is facilitated and promoted in our world-class universities.