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To ask the Secretary of State for Education, under the international arrangements English HE providers have for registering with the Office for Students, on how many occasions in the past five years has there been an intervention by the OfS regarding alleged breaches at Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, under the international arrangements English HE providers have for registering with the Office for Students, on how many occasions in the past five years has there been an intervention by the OfS regarding alleged breaches at Confucius Institutes.
The information requested is not held centrally by the department. The Office for Students (OfS), as the independent regulator for higher education in England, is responsible for identifying, monitoring and holding information relating to potential breaches of its regulatory requirements. The OfS publishes details of formal enforcement action where appropriate but does not routinely publish information on notifications it receives or ongoing investigations.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions have (a) ministers, and (b) officials had with the Office for Students on the presence of Confucius Institutes in the UK.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions have (a) ministers, and (b) officials had with the Office for Students on the presence of Confucius Institutes in the UK.
Ministers and officials regularly meet with the Office for Students to discuss a wide range of topics, including international partnerships. The government welcomes these partnerships, including with China, many of which make strong contributions to our society. Universities have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership, including with a Confucius Institute, is managed appropriately and is compliant with their legal duties and regulatory requirements.
What a mess. We have three questions for the Minister. First, what conversations has he had with all relevant parliamentary authorities—that might include the Speaker’s Office—about plans to tighten vetting or ongoing monitoring of researchers and staff to ensure this does not happen again?
Secondly, in the witness statements released by...
What a mess. We have three questions for the Minister. First, what conversations has he had with all relevant parliamentary authorities—that might include the Speaker’s Office—about plans to tighten vetting or ongoing monitoring of researchers and staff to ensure this does not happen again?
Secondly, in the witness statements released by...
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The department engages regularly with representatives from the higher education (HE) sector to support universities to maximise opportunities of collaboration whilst managing risks.
The department expects the HE sector to be alert to a range of risks when collaborating with international partners and to conduct appropriate due diligence and oversight. Any international arrangements English HE providers who are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) make, including Confucius Institutes, should be within the law and comply with OfS registration conditions. These include a commitment to the public interest governance principles, which include operating openly and in accordance with ensuring academic freedom and freedom of speech.
If students, staff, or the public feel that a provider is not meeting these requirements, they can submit a notification to the OfS. As the regulator for registered English providers, the OfS can intervene and use its regulatory powers, if a breach is identified.
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2025 to Question 25333 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: China, whether those checks have revealed attempts by organisations controlled by (a) the Hong Kong Trade Office, (b) the...
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2025 to Question 25333 on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: China, whether those checks have revealed attempts by organisations controlled by (a) the Hong Kong Trade Office, (b) the...
Checks are conducted on all organisations that apply to receive money from the department. These checks are to ensure that the department is satisfied insofar as is possible with the information available, that the organisation is suitable to receive government funding. My department is not aware of any links between government funded programmes or attempts to receive government funding and the organisations named.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the work of Confucius Institutes on freedom of speech in the higher education sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the work of Confucius Institutes on freedom of speech in the higher education sector.
This government is committed to ensuring our world leading universities remain free from foreign interference.
Any international arrangements English higher education (HE) providers who are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) make, including Confucius Institutes, should be within the law and comply with OfS registration conditions. These include a commitment to the public interest governance principles, which include academic freedom and freedom of speech. The OfS may take regulatory action if HE providers allow foreign governments to interfere in free speech or academic freedom.
The department expects the UK HE sector to be alert to a range of risks when collaborating with international partners and to conduct appropriate due diligence to comply with legislation and consider risks, including potential threats to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The department’s proposals regarding the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 have reinforced our clear expectations that HE providers must uphold the principles of freedom of speech and academic freedom. The OfS can request information from HE providers registered with them about overseas arrangements, including financial transactions, if they believe registration conditions may have been breached. The measures we are now implementing through the Act will further strengthen opportunities for the OfS, by providing a new focused way for complaints about foreign interference on academic freedom to be escalated.
The department is also carrying out a full and comprehensive audit on the breadth of the UK’s relationship with China. This government, through the ongoing China audit, will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in the UK’s and global interests. We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to and challenge where we must.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 on Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 on Confucius Institutes.
This government is committed to ensuring our world leading universities remain free from foreign interference.
Any international arrangements English higher education (HE) providers who are registered with the Office for Students (OfS) make, including Confucius Institutes, should be within the law and comply with OfS registration conditions. These include a commitment to the public interest governance principles, which include academic freedom and freedom of speech. The OfS may take regulatory action if HE providers allow foreign governments to interfere in free speech or academic freedom.
The department expects the UK HE sector to be alert to a range of risks when collaborating with international partners and to conduct appropriate due diligence to comply with legislation and consider risks, including potential threats to freedom of speech and academic freedom.
The department’s proposals regarding the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 have reinforced our clear expectations that HE providers must uphold the principles of freedom of speech and academic freedom. The OfS can request information from HE providers registered with them about overseas arrangements, including financial transactions, if they believe registration conditions may have been breached. The measures we are now implementing through the Act will further strengthen opportunities for the OfS, by providing a new focused way for complaints about foreign interference on academic freedom to be escalated.
The department is also carrying out a full and comprehensive audit on the breadth of the UK’s relationship with China. This government, through the ongoing China audit, will take a consistent, long term and strategic approach to managing the UK’s relations with China, rooted in the UK’s and global interests. We will co-operate where we can, compete where we need to and challenge where we must.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has given any funding to Confucius institutes since July 2024.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has given any funding to Confucius institutes since July 2024.
The department has not provided any funding to Confucius Institutes under this government.
Did the Chancellor raise any concerns, or indeed does she have any concerns, about the Confucius Institute, the Chinese Government-backed operation we see across the United Kingdom? And what answer did she get with respect to Jimmy Lai?
Did the Chancellor raise any concerns, or indeed does she have any concerns, about the Confucius Institute, the Chinese Government-backed operation we see across the United Kingdom? And what answer did she get with respect to Jimmy Lai?
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential national security implications of Confucius Institutes on UK university campuses.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential national security implications of Confucius Institutes on UK university campuses.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he is taking steps to monitor activities at Confucius Institutes.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has (a) received representations on and (b) made an assessment of the potential relationship between (i) Confucius Institutes and (ii) the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party.
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has (a) received representations on and (b) made an assessment of the potential relationship between (i) Confucius Institutes and (ii) the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Ministers are briefed regularly and in detail on matters relating to China. They are clear that as with all international bodies operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes must operate transparently and within the law, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking steps to examine the (a) presence of and (b) influence exerted by the Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Defending Democracy Taskforce is taking steps to examine the (a) presence of and (b) influence exerted by the Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) universities on the future of Confucius Institutes.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has discussions with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) universities on the future of Confucius Institutes.
The government takes seriously any concerns about overseas interference in the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, including through Confucius Institutes, and regularly assesses the risks facing academia. The department has taken action to remove any direct or indirect government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judge that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
The department works closely with Cabinet colleagues and other government departments to support the HE sector. Most recently, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education met a group of Vice Chancellors on 25 April to discuss research security in universities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to Question 182232 on Confucius Institutes, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the Chinese authorities of maintaining the Confucius Institutes in the UK in 2023/24.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 27 April 2023 to Question 182232 on Confucius Institutes, if she will make an estimate of the cost to the Chinese authorities of maintaining the Confucius Institutes in the UK in 2023/24.
The department does not hold this information.
To ask the Attorney General, how many cases have been forwarded to the Prosecution Service concerning people who are based in Confucius Institutes in the last two years.
To ask the Attorney General, how many cases have been forwarded to the Prosecution Service concerning people who are based in Confucius Institutes in the last two years.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not hold data on whether defendants are based in or members of Confucius Institutes or indeed any other similar organisations.
It would not be possible to determine whether a defendant in any specific case was based in or associated with a Confucius Institute without an examination of CPS case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of Chinese nationals that are working in Confucius Institutes in the UK; and how many and what proportion of these people have diplomatic immunity.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate she has made of the number of Chinese nationals that are working in Confucius Institutes in the UK; and how many and what proportion of these people have diplomatic immunity.
The employment of staff within Confucius Institutes is a matter for the UK university at which the Confucius Institute is based and their partner Chinese organisations. We do not hold data on the number of visa holders who work in Confucius Institutes.
Like other international bodies that operate in the UK, Confucius Institutes are required to operate transparently and within the law, and with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. The government is taking action to remove any direct or indirect government funding from these institutions in the UK.
Working at a Confucius Institute does not in itself confer any privileges and immunities under the Vienna Conventions. However, it is possible that a spouse of a serving diplomat at the Chinese mission to the UK, who therefore enjoys privileges and immunities on that basis, is employed at a Confucius Institute. The government would not hold such information.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the work of Confucius Institutes on freedom of speech at universities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the work of Confucius Institutes on freedom of speech at universities.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education (HE) sector, including through Confucius Institutes. We regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department is taking action to remove any government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judges that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
Like any international body operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes need to operate transparently and within the law, with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities also have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and that the right due diligence is in place.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that universities in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. Section 9 of the Act will require the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions, in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE. This includes the reporting of educational or commercial partnerships and would therefore cover arrangements with, for example, Confucius Institutes.
The department is now going further in the Integrated Review Refresh, launching a new and comprehensive review of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, to identify what more we could or should be doing.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to tackle potential national security risks posed by Confucius Institutes at UK universities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to tackle potential national security risks posed by Confucius Institutes at UK universities.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education (HE) sector, including through Confucius Institutes. We regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department is taking action to remove any government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judges that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
Like any international body operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes need to operate transparently and within the law, with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities also have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and that the right due diligence is in place.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that universities in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. Section 9 of the Act will require the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions, in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE. This includes the reporting of educational or commercial partnerships and would therefore cover arrangements with, for example, Confucius Institutes.
The department is now going further in the Integrated Review Refresh, launching a new and comprehensive review of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, to identify what more we could or should be doing.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Chinese influence through Confucius Institutes at UK universities since the Integrated Review Refresh in March 2023.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of Chinese influence through Confucius Institutes at UK universities since the Integrated Review Refresh in March 2023.
The department recognises concerns about overseas interference in the higher education (HE) sector, including through Confucius Institutes. We regularly assess the risks facing academia. The department is taking action to remove any government funding from Confucius Institutes in the UK, but currently judges that it would be disproportionate to ban them.
Like any international body operating in the UK, Confucius Institutes need to operate transparently and within the law, with a full commitment to our values of openness and freedom of expression. Universities also have a responsibility to ensure that any partnership with a Confucius Institute is managed appropriately, and that the right due diligence is in place.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that universities in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. Section 9 of the Act will require the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions, in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE. This includes the reporting of educational or commercial partnerships and would therefore cover arrangements with, for example, Confucius Institutes.
The department is now going further in the Integrated Review Refresh, launching a new and comprehensive review of legislative and other provisions designed to protect the academic sector, to identify what more we could or should be doing.
The government is clear that any challenges to our core values, whatever their origin, will not be tolerated.