OfS free speech complaints scheme to start in September

Academics and other aggrieved university staff will be able to lodge free speech complaints with the English regulator from September, the government has confirmed.

A long-delayed scheme, first planned under the former Conservative administration, will begin at the start of the next academic year.

It will provide a free grievance process that allows people who feel that universities have impinged on their free speech and academic freedom rights to seek redress.

The Office for Students (OfS) is being handed the power to investigate cases and recommend that institutions review decisions, pay compensation or alter their processes.

The Department for Education said regulations will be made in June to introduce the complaints scheme, that was included as part of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech Act) but not implemented alongside other clauses last year.

This was because the Labour government wanted to amend the legislation to remove the rights of students to use it, pointing out that they can already complain to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education.

Supporters have long pushed the government to move forward with a complaints scheme, fearing the rest of the act “lacks teeth” without it.

But critics say free speech cases are often complex and open to interpretation, making such a scheme difficult to administer. It took the OfS three and a half years to decide whether trans inclusion policies at the University of Sussex breached its free speech duties after opening an investigation following the departure of gender critical scholar Kathleen Stock amid student protests.

The regulator’s eventual decision to fine the university £585,000 has been challenged by a judicial review, with a decision expected imminently.

New conditions of registration that will allow the OfS to fine universities for breaches of the act won’t into force come until April, the government said. Fines could be as large as £500,000 or 2 per cent of their income, whichever is higher.

In the most serious cases, universities could face being deregistered by the regulator, losing access to the student loan system and public funding. 

A DfE spokesperson confirmed the complaints scheme will not be retrospective and will only deal with issues that happen from when it comes into force.

Arif Ahmed, who as the OfS’ director for free speech and academic freedom will oversee the scheme, said that “all staff and students are entitled to teach, learn and research in a culture that values vigorous debate”.

“Today’s announcement should give staff and visiting speakers confidence that they will have new routes to seek redress, and that we will have powers to act in defence of their free speech and academic freedom where institutions are failing to uphold these principles.  

“We will continue to engage with students and the sector on this important issue as we prepare for the new aspects of our role.”

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said that freedom of speech “is the foundation of every university’s success, enabling them to foster robust debate and exchange challenging ideas respectfully”.

“But there are far too many cases where academics and speakers are being silenced, inciting an unacceptable culture of fear and stifling the pursuit of knowledge,” Phillipson added.

“The urgency is clear which is why we are strengthening protections and empowering the regulator to restore our world-class universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration, and growth.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com