Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the protection of free speech in Scotland.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
This Government is committed to protecting free speech.
It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, working with Police Scotland, to ensure that the hate crime legislation is implemented and enforced in a way that protects freedom of speech and has the confidence of people in Scotland.
Asked by: Lord Skidelsky (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to bring into force all the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act of 2023, including the statutory tort contained in section 4, that have not yet come into effect.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The remaining provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will come into force in two phases. The main provisions of the Act, including the statutory tort contained in section 4, free speech duties on higher education providers, constituent institutions and students' unions, and the new complaints scheme will come into force on 1 August 2024.
The second phase involves provisions relating to new conditions of registration on providers and monitoring of overseas funding. These will come into force on 1 September 2025. This information was published by the Office for Students on 13 September 2023, see: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/.
The department will lay the necessary secondary legislation to bring the Act’s provisions into force by those dates.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the provisions in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 in the context of the response to recent remarks made by the Rector of St Andrews University on the Israel - Gaza war.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Although the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill received royal assent in May 2023, the main provisions of the Act will not come into force until 1 August 2024. This is because the Office for Students (OfS) will need to create the new free to use complaints scheme introduced by the Act and develop guidance on how providers and students’ unions can comply with their new duties, in consultation with the sector.
When in force, however, this Act will only apply to higher education providers in England registered with the OfS. The University of St Andrews will not, therefore, be in scope.
The new duties under the Act will give specific protections to academic staff and introduce routes of redress where an individual may not have clear contractual protections in place in respect of freedom of speech and academic freedom. The Act is clear that the job security of staff should not be undermined by the expression of lawful speech, including where they may question and test received wisdom, and put forward new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that the (a) employment rights and (b) freedom of speech of people of faith are protected (i) in the workplace and (ii) during the recruitment process.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
People of faith are protected by the existing legal framework. They have the same employment rights and protections as anyone else, including during the recruitment process. Where they feel those rights have not been respected, they can contact Acas or EASS (Equality Advisory and Support Service) for advice, and ultimately, seek redress through an employment tribunal.
In addition, the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from religious discrimination to anyone with a religious belief as well as to those who lack a religion or belief. The definition of a religion or belief in these provisions is deliberately broad and includes those religions widely recognised in the UK, as well as denominations or sects within a religion such as Catholics or Protestants within Christianity.
Jun. 01 2023
Source Page: University Freedom of Speech Bill becomes lawFound: University Freedom of Speech Bill becomes law
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that universities uphold the right to freedom of expression for students campaigning on matters relating to the (a) war in Gaza and (b) rights of Palestinians.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The right to freedom of speech, freedom of expression and academic freedom in higher education (HE) is one this government takes very seriously, and one that it has legislated to further protect.
Universities should be places where academics, students and visiting speakers can express a diverse range of views without fear of repercussion. The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act received Royal Assent on 11 May 2023 and is now an Act of Parliament. The main provisions in the Act will come into force on 1 August 2024.
The Act will strengthen HE providers’ duties to secure freedom of speech and will create a new duty to promote the importance of freedom of speech. The Act will also extend the duties to secure freedom of speech to students’ unions and will establish new routes of redress if the duties are breached.
It is important to note that the Act only covers speech that is within the law. The right to freedom of speech is not an absolute right and it does not include the right to harass others or incite them to violence or terrorism. Encouraging terrorism and inviting support for a proscribed terrorist organisation are criminal offences, and HE providers should not provide a platform for these offences to be committed. In addition, providers should be very clear that any antisemitic abuse or harassment will not be tolerated.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to extend the deadline of 1 August for implementation of the provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, given that the Office for Students has yet to publish guidance on the new complaints scheme relating to freedom of speech.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The main provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will come into force on 1 August 2024. Provisions surrounding the new regulatory framework and overseas funding will come into force on 1 September 2025. There is currently no intention to delay the commencement of these provisions, the department will lay the required secondary legislation to meet these implementation dates.
The department will work in collaboration with the Office for Students (OfS) to implement the Act, to allow time for the sector to update their policies and codes of practice. The department meets regularly with OfS to understand progress.
The OfS have already launched three consultations related to:
The proposed guidance is intended to help providers, constituent institutions and students’ unions to navigate the new free speech duties that the OfS expects to regulate from 1 August 2024. The department understands that the OfS intends to publish the final version on or before 1 August 2024.
A provisional implementation timetable is available on the OfS website: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/.
Asked by: Paul Blomfield (Labour - Sheffield Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 17725 on Academic Freedom, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office for Students on whether (a) higher education institutions and (b) students’ unions will have enough time to implement the guidance on securing free speech within the law before those obligations enter into force.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Member for East Sussex, and former Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing with responsibility for freedom of speech in the department, met with Professor Arif Ahmed in 2023 following his appointment, and discussed plans for implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (the Act) over the next two years. I also met with Arif Ahmed on 16 January 2024. The intention has always been for the Office for Students (OfS) to publish any guidance within good time of the Act coming into force to allow the sector sufficient time to consider it. The expectation expressed was that any guidance pertaining to the provisions that come into force on 1 August 2024 would be published by summer 2024, giving the sector the summer period to implement it into their practices.
The department understands that the OfS continues to work towards these timelines as set out on their website here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/, although precise timings are a matter for the OfS.
A draft version of the guidance that the OfS intend to issue following consultation has already been published for the sector to consider here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/fsvjdljh/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech.pdf.
Asked by: Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the Office for Students will provide guidance on the complaints scheme under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 in a timely manner, in compliance with the provisions of the Act.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The main provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will come into force on 1 August 2024.
The Office for Students (OfS) has already carried out consultations related to the regulation of students’ unions and new complaints scheme rules in December 2023. The department meets regularly with OfS to understand its progress on the implementation of the Act.
The OfS also launched a consultation on 26 March 2024 on its proposed approach, regulatory advice and guidance on the duties related to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The proposed guidance is intended to help providers, constituent institutions and students’ unions to navigate the new free speech duties that the OfS expects to regulate from 1 August 2024. The department understands that the OfS intends to publish the final version on or before 1 August 2024.
Written Evidence Mar. 07 2024
Inquiry: Human Rights at WorkFound: HRW0068 - Human Rights at Work Free Speech Union Written Evidence