Key Facts

• Amendment 38 would prevent duplicate complaint referrals.
• Amendments 39 to 42 address considerations for OfS when handling free speech complaints.
• New clause 8 requires guidance on appropriate complaint routes before the Act can come into force.
• Amendment 38 aims to clarify the relationship between the Office for Students and the Independent Adjudicator.
• Danny Stone of the Antisemitism Policy Trust supports adding legal duties in the Bill.
• Amendment 40 would allow universities to issue warnings instead of fines or recommendations.
• Further education colleges were not consulted during the bill's drafting.
• Amendment 42 aims to include an appeals process for decisions made by the freedom of speech director.
• Universities UK (UUK) highlights that there is no right to appeal a decision from the Office for Students (OfS).
• The Bill proposes a director who acts as judge and jury in decisions on universities without an appeal mechanism.
• New clause 8 aims to see guidance before Report stage or Royal Assent.
• Dr Ahmed suggests that guidance should address potential tensions with the Equality Act 2010.
• Sheffield Hallam University raises concerns about how the Bill will interact with existing legislation such as the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act.
• John Martin McDonnell discusses new clause 8 which seeks guidance from the Minister regarding appeals processes.
• The statement mentions a range of sanctions proposed by the University of Cambridge for individual cases.
• An example is given of the Advertising Standards Authority's approach, focusing on guidance before punitive action.
• Amendment 38 ensures complaints to the OfS cannot be made if a related matter is being or has been dealt with by OIA.
• The Bill does not override existing legal duties such as those under the Equality Act 2010 and Prevent duty.
• Proposed new schedule 6A to the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 enables the OfS to design a scheme that considers all relevant circumstances, including other legal duties.
• New clause 8 would require the Secretary of State to publish guidance on complaint routes.
• Two new specific routes for redress are provided: a complaints scheme by the OfS and a statutory tort.
• The main provisions of the Bill will not come into force until regulations set the date.
• The amendment proposed would add an appeals process for higher education providers and student unions.
• New clause 7 seeks to establish an independent advisory body consisting of representatives from Universities UK, the Universities and Colleges Union, and the National Union of Students.
• The advisory body's advice is public except where mutually agreed otherwise.
• Amendment 78 seeks to ensure that reports on OfS’s free speech functions are shared with sector bodies.
• New clause 7 proposes an independent advisory board for the director.
• Stakeholder engagement over the past 18 to 24 months has been insufficient according to some views.
• The amendment proposes establishing an advisory body to assist the director for freedom of speech.
• Western argues that engaging sector bodies would help mitigate damage caused by the legislation.
• There are concerns about the independence and centralisation at the Office for Students (OfS).
• The amendment seeks an annual update from OfS.
• It includes the number and nature of complaints about freedom of speech made to OfS.
• Examples of unacceptable infringements as defined by OfS are also provided in the updates.
• Amendment 85 seeks to prevent recent political donors from being appointed or reappointed as Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom.
• The amendment also prohibits current Directors from making any donations to political parties during their tenure.
• New clause proposals aim to involve the Education Select Committee in confirming appointments and conducting reviews within six months of a new Parliament.
• Lord Wharton is a Conservative party donor who took the Conservative party Whip and was appointed as chair of the Office for Students.
• Ewen Fergusson, another political appointee, was appointed to the Committee on Standards in Public Life.
• Sir Charles Dunstone resigned from the Royal Museums Greenwich due to the Government's refusal to reappoint an allegedly decolonizing trustee.
• Universities UK advisory board stated that openness and transparency are needed in the appointment.
• Nine out of ten trustees of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) are independent director-trustees appointed through a fair and open competition based on merit.
• In December 2016, the Cabinet Office published its governance code for public appointments emphasizing that all public appointments should be governed by the principle of appointment on merit.
• The Bill lacks a clear definition of freedom of speech.
• There are concerns that the current Government's majority allows them to make political appointments.
• The MP supports the establishment of safeguards similar to the Nolan principles for the appointment process.
• The MP questions the qualifications and impartiality of Lord Wharton's appointment as head of the OfS.
• The role of the new director for freedom of speech and academic freedom is expected to have significant influence over interpretations on university campuses.
• The statement highlights concerns about political bias in the selection process.
• The purpose behind new clause 9 is to have a process whereby the appointment goes through the appropriate body in the House of Commons.
• There are concerns about lack of safeguards and checks and balances in the current appointment process.
• Western suggests involving the Education Committee with pre-appointment consideration for better oversight.