Universities put free speech work ‘on hold’ after law pause

Universities were making progress on tackling free speech issues on campuses until ministers decided to pause the roll-out of new legislation, campaigners claim.

The prospect of the commencement of the Higher Education (Free Speech) Act (Hefsa) prompted four in five institutions to review their policies on free speech but this work has now stalled after the law was paused by ministers last year, says a coalition of groups calling for the act to be revived.

A letter sent to education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, and skills minister, Baroness Smith of Malvern, warns that the pausing of the implementation of Hefsa has “not only stalled such improvements that have happened, but has subsequently led to a significant deterioration in the free speech climate in ways that were foreseeable”.

The coalition, made up of academics and representatives from groups including Alumni for Free Speech, Academics for Academic Freedom and the Committee for Academic Freedom, claim that a working group at Imperial College London set up to develop new ways of promoting free speech – as mandated by the act – was suspended following the government announcements, “which has changed the free speech atmosphere at Imperial for the worse”.

However, it is understood that the task group at Imperial was wound up as it had completed its tasks of implementing a revised freedom of speech code of practice and a new events procedure.

The letter authors also claim that a similar group at UCL was in the process of developing an updated code of practice for free speech to make it Hefsa-compliant, but this work was stopped on the same day as Ms Phillipson’s announcement. Both Imperial and UCL were contacted for comment. 

The letter cites a recent survey by Universities UK (UUK) that found that 93 per cent of universities have a free speech code of practice, with 81 per cent of universities saying they have reviewed these policies since May 2023, when Hefsa received Royal Assent.

Some three-quarters (74 per cent) of universities say that they are now confident their institution has effective mechanisms for dealing with complaints relating to free speech, and the remaining 26 per cent say they are planning to update these systems, the survey found.

It was “no coincidence”, the campaigners’ letter argues, that these “significant improvements” had taken place in the period since May 2023. “It is impossible to conceive that this improvement would have happened if the universities had not had looming ahead...the provisions of Hefsa which improve protections and add crucial accountability,” the letter continues.

Concerns over free speech on university campuses erupted after Jo Phoenix, a former academic at the Open University, won a tribunal where she claimed she was forced to quit due to a “hostile environment” created by colleagues who opposed her gender-critical views, as well as concerns over the handling of debates surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

William Mackesy, co-founder of Alumni for Free Speech and former regulatory lawyer, told Times Higher Education the UUK survey findings were “devastating for any remaining arguments for not bringing in Hefsa”.

Mr Mackesy warned that unless the government takes action to tackle free speech on university campuses “the failures will continue and there will be more Phoenix scandals”.

Abhishek Saha, co-founder of the London Universities’ Council for Academic Freedom, added that it has “become clear that there’s no substitute for HEFSA to solve the issues with free speech and academic freedom on campus”, and described it as a “nuanced, effective and eminently workable act”.

Ms Phillipson has previously said the legislation was unworkable in its current form amid concerns about its impact on minority groups. She has promised to set out her position on its future “in due course”. Her decision to pause the act has been challenged by the Free Speech Union, with an initial judicial review hearing set to take place on 23 January.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereductaion.com