Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Tuesday, 19 May 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 21 May 2026. It was answered by Josh MacAlister (Labour) on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Academic Freedom

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New powers to protect vital free speech at universities, published on 20 April 2026, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of free speech breaches in higher education institutions in the last five years.

Answer: On Monday 20 April, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education announced she would make commencement regulations by June to bring into force the Office for Students’ (OfS) free speech complaints scheme for staff, external speakers and non-student members on 1 September 2026, and mandatory OfS conditions of registration on 1 April 2027. In her statement, my right hon. Friend noted she was aware of examples of academic staff who believe their right to lawful freedom of speech and academic freedom is still being curtailed and had therefore made the decision to act now to strengthen protections and provide a new route of redress.

Secondary information