Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of sexual assault on campuses.

University campuses should be safe and welcoming places for all students and staff. The government is committed to working with and through the regulator to encourage and support universities to take action to prevent sexual assault, and to ensure they have robust procedures in place to make the reporting and investigation of incidents as straightforward as possible.

To that end, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in cases of sexual harassment and misconduct, and other forms of bullying and harassment. This provision will come into force in 2024.

Earlier this year, the Office for Students conducted a consultation to make mandatory measures that will, for the first time, require providers to address misconduct on campus. The results are expected this winter with new measures due in 2024.

The department was also proud to support the work, led by Universities UK, to develop and publish guidance for universities on how to prevent and tackle incidents of spiking.