Morning, Tuesday, 19th January 2027
Online
This conference will examine next steps for freedom of speech and academic freedom in higher education in England. Areas for discussion include complaints and redress, governance and regulatory readiness, legal duties and event management, academic freedom in employment and research, international partnerships, and institutional culture, students’ unions and community cohesion.
With the Office for Students' free speech complaints scheme now in operation and conditions of registration E11 and E12 on governance arrangements and compliance with statutory free speech duties due to take effect in April 2027, sessions will assess how the regulatory framework under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 is working in practice.
Delegates will consider early experience of the scheme for staff, visiting speakers, applicants for academic posts and non-student members and how it sits alongside the Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s handling of student complaints. Implications of the University of Sussex judgement for proportionality, institutional decision-making will be considered, while looking at the relationship between institutional autonomy and OfS oversight as it develops final guidance and its assessment approach following consultation.
The agenda will examine practical requirements for provider readiness and where gaps remain. This includes assessing how free speech codes, complaints and disciplinary processes are signposting the new route for staff, and the development of governance and board-level assurance. Discussion is expected on how free speech duties can be applied effectively in decisions on controversial events, protest and disruption, and online expression, alongside equality law, harassment requirements, safeguarding and the Prevent Duty, as well as the proportionate burden of compliance for smaller providers and colleges.
Looking ahead, the agenda will consider institutional culture and practice that underpins confidence in freedom of speech and academic freedom, drawing on student and staff experience around self-censorship and trust in institutional processes. The agenda will examine training and support for those taking complex decisions, and relationships between providers and students’ unions, including implications of government plans to repeal the direct statutory free speech duties. We also expect discussion on the development of a national community cohesion framework, and approaches to protecting academic freedom and institutional autonomy while sustaining international collaboration.
Complaints, redress & regulatory readiness
Sessions in the agenda will consider early experience of the new complaints and redress arrangements, looking at internal procedures and whether they are efficient in resolving disputes before they reach the regulator, providing clarity for complainants, and what governing bodies will need to demonstrate under the April 2027 conditions.
Areas for discussion include:
- complaints handling: internal processes - 90-day point after which the OfS may accept a complaint - eligibility, evidence requirements and time limits - early resolution - redress and outcomes
- OfS and OIA routes: respective jurisdiction and consistency - one incident reviewed under different tests - teaching, assessment and research complaints - boundary with academic judgement
- conditions E11 and E12: final guidance following OfS consultation - governing-body oversight - guidance on the duty to promote - proportionate requirements for smaller providers and colleges
- evidencing compliance and access:
- January 2027 deadline for advertising the scheme in codes of practice and procedures - clarity for visiting speakers, applicants for academic posts and non-student members
- policy consistency and decision records - audit trails - lawful, proportionate and reasonably practicable decisions
- enforcement and risk: University of Sussex judgement and revised Regulatory Advice 24 - monetary penalties and regulatory intervention - institutional and reputational risk - early case studies
Lawful expression, equality duties & event management
Delegates will also consider the interaction between free speech duties and wider legal and regulatory requirements, and where staff responsible for events, security and student conduct still face uncertainty in practice.
Areas for discussion include:
- free speech and wider duties: Equality Act 2010, harassment and OfS Condition E6 - updated guidance on external speakers and strengthened OfS monitoring - safeguarding and public order requirements
- protest and activism: handling sustained protest, encampments, occupations and anticipated disruption - proportionate institutional responses
- speaker and event decisions: security, costs and conditions - disruption and thresholds for postponement or cancellation - internal approval processes and the breadth of the visiting speaker definition
- proportionality in practice: reasonably practicable steps - avoiding unnecessary restriction of lawful speech while acting on unlawful conduct - escalation, legal advice and support for complex decisions
Academic freedom in employment, research & international partnerships
Further sessions will consider implications of the evolving framework for teaching, research and employment practice, including how far institutional, financial and external pressures are bearing on decisions about people, courses and contested work.
Areas for discussion include:
- recruitment and promotion: EDI statements and other criteria that may influence how views or beliefs are expressed or assessed - career progression
- staff conduct:
- disciplinary and grievance processes - distinguishing lawful beliefs and expression from behaviour that may be regulated
- protected philosophical beliefs and recent tribunal case law
- teaching and supervision: academic discussion of contested topics and concerns around professional consequences - lecture capture and recorded teaching
- research and publication: academic independence in decisions on controversial work - institutional reputation - external funding relationships
- institutional pressures: course closures and restructuring - employment security - potential impact on willingness to teach and research freely
- international partnerships: due diligence - research and academic security - OfS expectations for arrangements with foreign states - international students and visiting academics
- foreign interference: government guidance and the Academic Interference Reporting Route - transnational repression - institutional autonomy - future of overseas funding reporting
Campus culture, students' unions, community cohesion & open debate
Further sessions will consider how universities, colleges and students' unions are supporting a culture of free speech and open debate across university life, looking into building confidence among students and staff and the impact since new duties came into force.
Areas for discussion include:
- understanding and training: staff and student understanding of free speech rights - induction and training - decision-making capability
- student perspectives: expectations on freedom of expression and academic freedom - self-censorship and participation in academic debate - confidence in institutional processes
- online expression: lecture capture, social media and online spaces - harassment - historic posts and screenshots - private expression and university responsibility
- students’ unions: provider responsibilities and codes of practice - society affiliation, events and oversight - implications of the planned repeal of direct statutory duties
- community cohesion: development and early use of the national framework - belonging, inclusion and respectful disagreement - civic participation and relations with local communities
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
