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Written Question
Security: Postgraduate Education
Wednesday 26th February 2025

Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of the report by Freedom from Torture entitled No Questions Asked: UK universities provide postgraduate security education to security personnel from torturing states, published in February 2025.

Answered by Janet Daby

Universities are independent from government and manage their own admissions decisions. However, the department expects the higher education sector to be responsible and alert to regulatory risks when collaborating with international partners, conducting appropriate due diligence to comply with all legislation, including the Human Rights Act 1998, and the registration conditions set by the Office for Students (OfS).

Any international arrangements made by registered higher education providers in England must be within the law and must comply with the registration conditions set by the OfS, including a commitment to their public interest governance principles.

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