Contributions
933 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)Will the Minister give way?20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)Will the Minister give way?20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)I am grateful to the Minister. She talks about last resort, and in response to my last intervention she said that that could not be put in legislation because external speakers…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)I meant all processes.20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)The contradiction in using that example is that the Bill would not make any difference, because it excludes the Oxford Union. The very thing that Government Members are worried…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)The difficulty with the inclusion of FE colleges is that, broadly, they are regulated by Ofsted; they have a completely different framework; and they have no relationship with the…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Ninth sitting)We have heard why the clause is dangerous, and I will talk briefly about two reasons why it should be opposed. First, I will touch on the real chilling effect that I believe the…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)rose—20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)The Minister mentioned “proportionate measures”, so will she commit to ensuring that the regulations reflect the size of the institution or student union, and the ability of the…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)As we have heard, this is one of the most worrying parts of the Bill because it seeks to regulate private associations even further. It is a very dangerous step because it starts…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)It does possibly explain a lot. He was also clerk to one of the parish councils that I served on, so our lives have been intertwined. That case said that student unions are…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)My understanding is that this relates not just to the student union’s activities be in the HE sector, but to the whole of the student union’s activities, even in the FE part of…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)Of course I understand that, but a complaint is not simple and will not be simple. For example, a charity that is seen to prejudice one part of speech, particularly political…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)And the OIA. I would appreciate the Minister doing that, because it is a minefield. We heard as much from the representative of Universities UK, who said that they were deeply…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)My argument does not necessarily only deal with fining; I am talking about regulation as opposed to fining, and we have had a debate on that. The point on fining is that we are…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)We have heard that “where there’s a blame, there’s a claim”. We have seen it in road traffic, and we have actually seen an increase in litigation in the higher education sector,…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)Because, so far, student unions have not had that contractual relationship, with the ability of students to take them to court for failing to fulfil a service. That is my point…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)Either they will get indemnity insurance, or they will find a way to be covered by the institution’s indemnity insurance, which, again, defeats the whole point that student unions…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Tenth sitting)We have talked in great detail—possibly too much for some Members. The point is that, in regulating the institution, where it is institutional money and resources, the regulation…20 Sept 2021HANSARD Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill (Eighth sitting)This is a significant new clause, and it is the only new clause relating to this matter. As people will know, I am particularly passionate about student unions and student…16 Sept 2021