Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisemitism at universities.

This government is clear that every student, regardless of their background or religion, should be able to pursue their studies at university without fear of harassment or discrimination. As autonomous institutions, universities have robust processes in place to prevent and tackle incidents of harassment and abuse on campus.

The latest Community Security Trust (CST) report, titled ‘Campus Antisemitism in Britain 2022-2024’, confirms a significant increase in antisemitic incidents on university campuses over the past two academic years. Additionally, recent Home Office hate crime data indicates that Jewish communities are disproportionately targeted by hate crimes.

The department considers tackling antisemitism in education a key priority and has already taken important steps to address it. We have confirmed £7 million in funding for the Tackling Antisemitism in Education (TAE) programme and have launched a new procurement (which will close on 16 January 2025) to upskill school and college teachers and key university staff to prevent, recognise and address incidents of antisemitism.

Under the TAE programme, we have already awarded £500,000 to the University Jewish Chaplaincy (UJC) to provide welfare-based support for Jewish students who may be worried about their safety. The funds will be used by UJC to enhance their support services, which include offering counselling, organising community events, and providing a safe space for Jewish students to discuss their concerns.

We continue to liaise closely with Jewish stakeholder groups including the UJC, the Union of Jewish Students and CST to discuss and address their concerns.