Protecting free speech in universities remains ¡°central¡± to the work of the Office for Students (OfS) despite pressure on institutional finances and political wrangling delaying key interventions, according to Arif Ahmed.

The English regulator¡¯s director for freedom of speech and academic freedom said he was ¡°looking forward to getting on with it¡± after the Labour government announced a revised version of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, having paused this legislation upon taking power.

Changes include the removal of the statutory tort that would have allowed complainants to sue if they felt their free speech rights had been infringed and reforms to the complaints scheme to be run by Ahmed that came within days of being launched last August.

Speaking to reporters for the first time since the pause, Ahmed said he welcomed the ¡°broad drift¡± of the government¡¯s announcement as it signalled it ¡°values free speech and academic freedom¡± and gave a sense of why it should be a priority in universities.

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He said he did not yet know when the changes ¨C which still have to be ratified by parliament ¨C would come into effect, but insisted he has had ¡°plenty to do¡± in his?20-month stint in the post.

In this time, the finances of universities have worsened considerably, and the regulator has had to pause much of its work to focus its resources.

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Asked if the regulator still had the bandwidth to arbitrate over potentially complicated free speech issues, Ahmed said: ¡°For us, freedom of speech is and always has been a priority because we think it goes to the core mission of what universities are for.

¡°We think the core mission of universities is the pursuit of knowledge. Universities are communities of scholars, there to pursue knowledge. And we think freedom of speech and academic freedom are absolutely vital to that. This is always going to be central to our work.

¡°We have to think carefully about lots of other things as well, but the OfS has never been an organisation that only does one thing so there is nothing new there.¡±

Ministers have attempted to relieve some of the potential burden of the complaints scheme by asking the regulator to only focus on the most serious cases.

Ahmed said how these will be decided was still up for discussion but promised to set out ¡°clear and neutral criteria¡± before the scheme was implemented.

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He said cases that raised matters of principle that could have broader importance for the rest of the sector are likely to take priority.

Revised guidance for universities will also be published soon, he added, updating a document that was the subject of a consultation before the general election.

Asked whether this will change in light of the new political context, Ahmed said: ¡°We¡¯ve always said freedom of speech is more about message than it is about the manner in which it is delivered.

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¡°It is really important that people are not penalised or restricted or regulated because of the message they are trying to deliver. That is consistent with regulating how it is delivered.¡±

Universities should not ¡°restrict or publish speech because of what it says¡± but can regulate speech that ¡°may for instance be delivered in a way that prevents a university from carrying out its essential functions¡±, he added.

Ahmed said this approach was ¡°entirely consistent¡± with having harassment policies, addressing a key concern of the sector.

On the issue of the regulator¡¯s long-running and yet-to-be concluded investigation into the departure of philosophy professor Kathleen Stock from the University of Sussex over her gender-critical views ¨C the only major free speech issue it has looked at to date ¨C Ahmed declined to comment.

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tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com