Key Facts

• The amendment would prevent individuals who have donated to political parties in the last three years from being appointed as Director.
• New clause 9 requires the Education Select Committee's confirmatory resolution for the Director's appointment.
• New clause 11 mandates a review of the appointment process within six months after a new Parliament.
• The clause creates a new director for freedom of speech and academic freedom within the Office for Students.
• The director's role is likened to that of the director for fair access and participation.
• Costs associated with establishing this position are estimated between £0.5 million and £0.8 million.
• The amendments include changes to the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
• Amendments are also made to section 31 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015.
• Definitions for 'constituent institution' and 'registered higher education provider' are clarified in multiple sections.
• Amendment 70 aims to insert new section 32A into schedule of the Bill.
• John Hayes introduced the Prevent duty as Minister for Security at the Home Office, obliging various organisations to identify potential terrorists.
• The amendment seeks to separate academic freedom from counter-terrorism measures to prevent misunderstandings and misuse of the Prevent duty.
• John Hayes acknowledges the complexity of inheriting and amending existing legislation.
• The Prevent duty applies to higher education institutions, local authority schools, further education institutions, health sector, prisons, probation and police services.
• Corey Stoughton from Liberty argues that campus activism monitoring tactics have had a 'chilling effect' on black and Muslim students.
• Lloyd Russell-Moyle declares interests with the University of Bradford, the University of Sussex, and the University and College Union.
• The amendment aims to address contradictory guidelines and overlapping legislation.
• Previous amendments proposed similar ideas but were better worded.
• There have been cases where Prevent duty or programme had a chilling effect on researchers and students.
• Compensation was paid to two individuals who faced arrest for researching terrorist radicalization.
• Higher education providers have a statutory duty to comply with Prevent to safeguard against radicalisation.
• Specific guidance has been published by the Home Office on how higher education providers should implement the Prevent duty.
• The Government are conducting an independent review of the Prevent duty.
• Judith Cummins (Bradford South) discusses New Clause 2.
• New Clause 2 requires providers to take steps to ensure students' unions have sufficient resources to carry out their duties under sections A4 and A5 of the Act.
• The clause is added to the Bill and read for the first time.
• The Department for Education's impact assessment quotes a cost of £800,000 annually for student unions to implement and update the code of practice.
• Student unions face significant costs due to their unfamiliarity with new administrative requirements compared to universities that already have established codes of conduct.
• 165 FE colleges are registered higher education providers on the Office for Students' list.
• The Bill primarily affects Oxford, Cambridge, and Russell Group universities.
• There are 165 further education colleges impacted by the Bill.
• New clause 2 would require providers to ensure student unions have sufficient resources to carry out their duties under proposed new sections A4 and A5 of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.
• New clause 6 proposes that the Act expires after three years unless renewed.
• The Minister may remove provisions one year after enactment if deemed ineffective.
• A report must be presented to Parliament on the Act's effectiveness before the end of the third year.
• New clause 13 is proposed to address unfair dismissal in violation of academic freedom.
• Dismissals under the new clause will be treated as unfairly dismissed regardless of employment period.
• There is no limit on the level of compensation that can be awarded for such dismissals.
• Kathleen Stock and Sarah Honeychurch faced calls for dismissal due to their gender critical views and criticism of LGBT training in universities, respectively.
• Dismissed academics may not be able to claim dismissal-related losses if they were dismissed due to an exercise of their lawful free speech and academic freedom.
• Employment tribunals can handle claims concerning free speech but usually require a link to protected characteristics like religion or belief.
• New clauses 5 and 13 seek to treat dismissals as automatically unfair under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
• The current two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal is intended to balance fairness for employees with employer flexibility.
• The Bill introduces new protections for academic staff, including visiting fellows, without employee status or employed less than two years.
• The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is being debated with proposed new clauses.
• New Clause 6 suggests a sunset clause for the legislation to expire after three years.
• New Clause 7 proposes an independent advisory body comprising representatives from Universities UK, UCU, and NUS.
• New Clause 8 would ensure clear guidance on complaint routes for students and staff.
• New Clause 9 requires confirmatory resolution by the Education Select Committee for Director appointments.
• New Clause 10 mandates OfS to publish guidance within six months of certain clauses coming into force.
• New Clause 12 seeks to amend section 26 of the Equality Act 2010.
• The clause would require courts and tribunals to take into account the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom when deciding cases involving conduct by academic staff.
• MP Michelle Donelan believes existing protections under the Equality Act already address concerns about balancing free speech and harassment without needing further amendment.
• The new clause was voted down with Ayes 6 and Noes 8.
• Michelle Donelan thanked Mrs Cummins and Sir Christopher Chope for chairing the Committee.
• John Hayes acknowledged the performance of Ministers and shadow Ministers in maintaining engagement throughout the Committee proceedings.