This blog has been kindly written for HEPI by Andrew Boggs, Visiting Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies and University Clerk at Kingston University.
The Government’s Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill has now progressed through the House of Lords and the Department for Education, as the sponsoring Department, are in the final stages of considering various amendments. All things being equal, one could assume the Bill will receive Royal Assent at some point this spring. Understandably, the Office for Students are prepping for the new regulatory powers the Bill will give them. It is therefore prudent for universities and other higher education providers in England to begin preparing for the changes the Bill – once enacted – are likely to bring to our operations and processes.
The Office for Students held a briefing event for providers on 15 December 2022, at which point they published an Insight document to guide higher education providers on how to begin preparing for addition to the Regulatory framework for England. However, there remain some questions and issues for providers, and the regulator, to consider before full implementation of a ‘Freedom of Speech’ regulatory regime, as per the expectations of the Bill, can begin working.
