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1698476

registered interest
date	25/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academic Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	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.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	20287
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2024 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>The department understands that the OfS continues to work towards these timelines as set out on their website here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/quality-and-standards/freedom-of-speech/changes-to-regulation/</a>, although precise timings are a matter for the OfS.</p><p> </p><p>A draft version of the guidance that the OfS intend to issue following consultation has already been published for the sector to consider here: <a href="https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/fsvjdljh/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/fsvjdljh/regulatory-advice-24-guidance-related-to-freedom-of-speech.pdf</a>.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 19/04/2024 11:54:40 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1697447

registered interest
date	20/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Department for Education: Written Questions
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to Question 17725 on Academic Freedom tabled by the hon. Member for Sheffield Central on 8 March 2024.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	19605
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>A response was published to the hon. Member for Sheffield Central to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-03-08/17725" target="_blank">17725</a> on 21<sup>st</sup> March 2024.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 27/03/2024 17:25:03 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1694750

registered interest
date	08/03/2024
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Academic Freedom
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will hold discussions with the Office for Students on ensuring that the forthcoming guidance for higher education providers on (a) securing free speech within the law and (b) publishing and maintaining a freedom of speech code of practice is published before 1 August 2024.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	17725
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2024 answer text <p>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, introducing 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 Office for Students (OfS) has already launched two consultations that will feed into new complaints scheme rules and guidance for students’ unions on the OfS’s approach to regulating them. These will be published before the 1 August 2024.</p><p>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.</p><p>The OfS expects to consult shortly on the proposed revisions to the regulatory framework, including on its approach to the recovery of costs, as well as on more detailed guidance on securing free speech within the law and on maintaining a free speech code of practice. The OfS consultations are not yet live, and the OfS will require time to run the consultation, analyse the results and publish a response before they can publish the guidance to which they relate. Precise timings on the publication of guidance are a matter for the OfS.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed David Johnston question first answered 21/03/2024 11:39:01 answering member 4761 label Biography information for David Johnston
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield