Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing enforceable minimum standards for universities’ investigation of hate crime incidents.

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for investigating incidents that occur within their communities. The government expects providers to have effective procedures in place to prevent and respond to hate crime, harassment and discrimination.

The department has not made an assessment of the merits of introducing enforceable minimum standards specifically for universities’ investigation of hate crime incidents. Providers are already subject to a range of legal and regulatory requirements, including duties under the Equality Act 2010, while the Office for Students (OfS) regulates registered providers in England and monitors compliance with its conditions of registration.

The government will continue to work with the HE sector and the OfS to help ensure that students can study in an environment that is safe, inclusive and free from harassment, hatred and discrimination.