Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the funding being received by British universities from Chinese companies, including Huawei.

The government is committed to supporting academia to engage with international partners in a way that reflects the UK’s values and takes account of national security concerns and wider risks.

We have strengthened sector support considerably in recent years, launching the National Protective Security Authority’s ‘Trusted Research’ campaign, and supporting Universities UK to develop guidelines on tackling security risks. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology also provides the Research Collaboration Advice Team, which gives tailored advice to research institutions to help them manage the risks in international collaboration.

The Department continues to talk to universities to ensure advice and measures on tackling security risks when engaging internationally remain relevant and proportionate. This helps to promote safe, sustainable, and legally compliant international collaboration.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will give the Office for Students powers to monitor the overseas funding of registered higher education (HE) providers in England, their constituent institutions, members, and staff in order to assess the extent to which such funding arrangements present a risk to freedom of speech and academic freedom in HE.