Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they will make in response to the report of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Tackling Racial Harassment: Universities Challenged, published on 23 October.

Racial harassment is unacceptable and we cannot tolerate staff and students being victims of it at our world-leading universities.

Higher education providers have clear responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 and should discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law, to investigate and swiftly address incidents reported to them.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) inquiry has made an important contribution to our knowledge of the extent of racism in higher education. The government will look closely at EHRC’s recommendations. Although some progress has been made, it is clear there is still more to do. Universities have clear responsibilities in this regard and I expect them to take these seriously.