¡°Changing the law has definitely led to a change in culture in universities,¡± insists Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, on the early impact of?England¡¯²õ Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which took effect in August.

¡°We are beginning to see universities behave much better,¡± he said, adding that he feels it has allowed staff to push back against institutional rules demanding ideological conformity. ¡°People felt very isolated but heretics now know they are much more common in the academy than they previously realised. That is hugely important.¡±

Even those who disagreed that the country needed new legislation in this area agree that it has helped push academic freedom and free speech issues up the agenda in universities.

But Young said a ¡°significant¡± element of the act ¨C a complaints handling process overseen by the Office for Students (OfS) ¨C is still missing and will be for some time yet.

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The scheme ¨C which could see institutions fined for free speech violations ¨C is being revised by ministers to remove the right for students to use it, but this requires parliamentary approval.

¡°Provided [education secretary] Bridget Phillipson makes good on her promise to bring forward the legislation ¨C and attach it to the next suitable legislative vehicle ¨C then we will have a complaints system. The problem is there is nothing in the next parliamentary session that looks suitable,¡± said Young.

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¡°Maybe Phillipson will find something but it is now looking like this element will get Royal Assent in 2028-29 at the earliest, and then it will probably take another two years to come into effect,¡± said Young.

For some, the lack of a complaints handling element ¨C with timebound investigations to ensure speedy resolutions ¨C remains crucial for holding institutions to account.

Steven Greer, emeritus professor of law at the University of Bristol, is pushing for the OfS to investigate a harassment campaign against him in 2021 after he was falsely accused of Islamophobia. While he?was exonerated by a university inquiry in July 2021, the human rights course he taught for 15 years was not reinstated.

¡°In June 2025, a consortium of a dozen free speech and religious organisations referred my case to the OfS on the grounds that my case was indistinguishable from Katheen Stock¡¯²õ. But, as yet, there is no indication of how it might proceed,¡± said Greer, noting the similarities to the?OfS¡¯ only free speech investigation?so far.

¡°Academic freedom has?been dealt a grievous blow with enduring and uncorrected effects,¡± he said, adding: ¡°The module is still cancelled and other academics are likely to be self-censoring in order to avoid the fate which befell me. Yet there has?been no accountability.¡±

The lack of clarity over whether someone has an automatic right to an investigation is ¡°creating an uncertainty that isn¡¯t helpful for anyone,¡± agreed Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau law firm.

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However, Jamdar said she has ¡°serious reservations about whether any scheme run by the OfS will in any event offer effective redress¡±. ¡°They have no experience of running a complaints scheme, are not a particularly focused regulator and their enforcement activity has been slow and inefficient,¡± she said.

The University of Sussex¡¯²õ ?585,000 fine related to the treatment of philosophy professor Kathleen Stock,?following a three-and-a-half-year investigation, was widely seen as a statement of intent by the OfS. But it also highlights the contentious decision to adjudicate on such matters, said Jamdar. Sussex has been granted permission by the High Court to pursue a judicial review over the decision.?

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¡°I don¡¯t really understand how they are qualified to make decisions about whether speech is lawful or not (they are not a court or tribunal) and if the Sussex challenge is anything to go by, their interpretation of the law is sometimes debatable, so I suspect there would be challenges to their complaints outcomes too,¡± said Jamdar.

For his part, the OfS¡¯ free speech director Arif Ahmed insists the regulator is listening to the sector¡¯²õ concerns, though it would take a more strategic approach to investigations.

Any ¡°notifications¡± received by the OfS would ¡°add to our intelligence or picture of a university or college¡±, he told Times Higher Education on how investigations might happen.

In the meantime, the OfS was busy engaging with universities on their new duties but is also keen to promote good practice on free speech, explained Ahmed.

¡°When we see universities and colleges taking decisive steps to show they take this freedom of speech seriously, we want to celebrate it?¨C we want to tell the sector: ¡®Look, this is good practice¡¯,¡± he said.

While some may feel their complaints are going unheard, there also seems widespread acknowledgement that universities are becoming far more vigilant about potential infringements, making free speech breaches less likely.

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¡°I don¡¯t however agree that the law isn¡¯t effective until the complaints scheme comes in,¡± said Jamdar. ¡°I have never seen as much activity in the sector to get on top of a legal change as I am seeing in relation to this. It is on the agenda of boards and senior leadership teams as never before.¡±

jack.grove@timeshigheducation.com