Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to protect academic and student freedom of speech in schools and universities.

This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom in schools, universities and beyond. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, confirmed to Parliament on 15 January the government’s plans for future of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will create a more proportionate, balanced and less burdensome approach to protecting academic freedom and freedom of speech.

On 28 April, the Secretary of State signed commencement regulations, bringing the following provisions into force from 1 August 2025:

• Strengthened higher education (HE) provider duties in relation to securing freedom of speech and academic freedom and promoting the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom.
• A requirement for HE providers to put in place effective codes of practice on freedom of speech and academic freedom.
• A ban of non-disclosure agreements in HE for staff and students where there is a complaint about bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.
• A requirement for the Office for Students to promote free speech and enable it to give advice and guidance on it.

Schools have a statutory duty to ensure a balanced presentation of political issues, but older pupils can engage with the political issues provided activity is conducted sensitively and not targeted at others. The promotion of fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect and tolerance for those of different faiths and beliefs is considered by Ofsted in their inspections.