Overview

• The guidance emphasizes a very strong presumption in favor of permitting lawful speech and prohibits blanket bans on student protests.
• It details universities’ duties under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which takes effect in August 2025.
• Universities must secure freedom of speech for invited speakers and refrain from penalizing staff or students for lawful expression.
• A YouGov survey for the regulator found that 21% of academics feel constrained in debating controversial subjects, rising to a third among ethnic minority staff.
• Earlier this year the regulator fined the University of Sussex £585,000 after finding it failed to uphold freedom of speech in the Kathleen Stock case.