Overview

• Universities and colleges in England now face statutory duties under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act to secure and promote lawful free expression and academic inquiry on campus.
• The Office for Students can initiate investigations through a new complaints scheme and impose fines, building on last spring’s record £585,000 penalty against the University of Sussex.
• Non-disclosure agreements are prohibited in cases of bullying, harassment, and sexual misconduct, ensuring survivors can speak out without legal gagging.
• Ministers have placed institutions on notice that failure to uphold academic freedom will result in sanctions, having removed a statutory tort to streamline enforcement.
• Despite generally high confidence in free expression—88% of final-year students and 89% of academics report feeling free to speak—over one-fifth of staff still feel unable to address contentious issues, highlighting ongoing inclusion challenges.