Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they have taken to ensure the balance of enabling free speech in universities whilst mitigating the potential risk caused by extremist speakers.

Universities are legally required to take reasonable steps to ensure freedom of speech for staff, students and visiting speakers. This includes publishing a code of conduct setting out how they do this. They must balance this duty alongside their other legal responsibilities including the statutory Prevent duty which requires them to have due regard to avoid the potential risk of people being drawn into terrorism.

The Prevent guidance for Higher Education sets out that universities should have policies in place for the management of external speakers and events. This includes guidance on how universities balance their duty to promote free speech whilst mitigating the potential risk to safety or welfare that may be posed by extremist speakers.

The Department for Education’s regional Prevent coordinator network provides additional support to universities to enable them to assess the potential risks from certain speakers and how to take mitigating action to ensure that ideas and opinions can be heard, challenged and debated.

The statutory Prevent duty is monitored by the Higher Education Funding Council for England who report to us that institutions are properly balancing the need to protect their students, whilst ensuring that freedom of speech on campus is not undermined.