Arif Ahmed discusses the OfS work to implement new free speech legislation, including a further consultation which will be launched in the coming weeks.
Free speech is a fundamental right for everyone. Freedom of speech is at the heart of high quality education and free speech issues may affect students with all kinds of views. Our approach to freedom of speech is completely neutral about these views. We do not mind what views people have on contentious topics, and we certainly aren’t interested in ‘culture wars’. Indeed the OfS stands for the widest possible definition of freedom of speech: anything within the law. However, freedom of speech within the law does not cover illegal speech, for instance speech that amounts to illegal harassment or stirring up of racial or religious hatred.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 11 May 2023. The new legislation will strengthen the legal requirements placed on universities and colleges in relation to free speech and academic freedom, and it will expand the OfS’s regulatory role in this area. Most of the provisions are not yet in force. They are expected to come into force in two phases — later this year and in 2025.
We are working in a complex and fast moving space. The impact of this legislation and our regulation, including a new free speech complaints scheme, and our approach to regulating students’ unions on free speech matters, will be felt for many years.
Since I joined the OfS as Director for Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom in August 2023, I have spoken to hundreds of people in the higher education sector including students, students’ unions, universities, colleges and their representative bodies. We are keen to hear from anyone affected by the legislation and I hope to meet with many more people in the coming weeks and months as we continue this work.
