Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, where the post of Director of Freedom of Speech in the Office for Students was advertised; who was involved in recruitment decisions for that post; and how many people applied for that post.

The role of Director of Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom was advertised on the Times Higher Education website.

Officials at the department managed the recruitment process. The essential and desirable criteria against which applicants were assessed were included in the job advert, which can be sent to any members interested. The department received 16 applications for the role.

An interview panel was chaired by Hannah Sheehan (Director of Higher Education Quality in the department) and joined by Lord Wharton of Yarm (Chair of the Office for Students) and Robert Colvile (Director of the Centre for Policy Studies), who joined as an independent panellist.

The Director was appointed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, in the same way that other board members of the Office for Students are appointed under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.