Thank you to the many constituents who have recently got in touch with the Cancel Israel Apartheid Week campaign.
I passed on
concerns raised in this specific campaign to the Department for Education. I
was pleased to receive a letter reply from Michelle Donelan – The Minister of
State for Universities.
She stated:
‘Dear
Cherilyn,
Thank you
for your email of 19 March, on behalf of your constituent, about the
International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism
and ‘Israel Apartheid Week’.
The
government expects higher education (HE) providers to be at the forefront of
tackling the issue of antisemitism, making sure that HE is a genuinely
fulfilling and welcoming experience for everyone. Providers are independent and
autonomous organisations which are responsible for the management of their own
affairs and for meeting their duties under the law, including those relating to
freedom of expression and equalities. All HE providers should discharge their
responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to
comply with the law, to investigate and swiftly address hate crime, including
any antisemitic incidents that are reported.
The
government has asked all English HE providers registered with the Office for
Students (OfS) to adopt the IHRA definition. Adopting this widely recognised
definition sends a strong signal that HE providers take these issues seriously.
In 2019 the
Communities Secretary wrote to all HE providers to urge them to adopt the IHRA
definition of antisemitism. Most recently in October 2020, the Secretary of
State for Education wrote to HE leaders to reiterate the importance of the
definition and to urge all providers to consider adopting it. The government is
pleased to report that at least 91 providers have now adopted the definition,
and many more are preparing to adopt it or in the process of considering
adoption.
Nevertheless,
further progress is still needed to eradicate antisemitism. This is why, in the
Secretary of State for Education’s most recent strategic guidance letter, the
government asked the Office for Students (OfS) to undertake a scoping exercise,
to identify providers which are reluctant to adopt the definition.
The letter
asked the OfS to consider introducing mandatory reporting of antisemitic
incident numbers by providers, with the aim of ensuring a robust evidence base,
which the OfS can then use to effectively regulate in this area. The Secretary
of State also asked the OfS to ensure that, if antisemitic incidents do occur
at a provider, when considering what sanctions to apply, they should take into
account whether the provider has adopted the IHRA definition.
The
government will continue to encourage HE providers to do all they can to stamp
out antisemitism, harassment and hatred. The government is clear that HE should
be a welcoming environment for all students, regardless of faith or race. Lord
Mann has been working in his role as the independent advisor on antisemitism to
the government. Through this, Lord Mann has provided advice to government on
the most effective methods to tackle antisemitism, including in civil society
and HE. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government
has recently funded the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) to support their project
to combat antisemitism on university campuses.
Your
constituent’s correspondence also refers to concerns over events occurring
under the banner of Israel Apartheid Week. It is crucial that HE providers
handle such events appropriately, taking into account the legal position and
the need to balance expectations and legislation on free speech as well as
those relating to antisemitism and harassment.
We expect
HE providers to have clearly set out procedures and policies for events and for
the hosting of external speakers. This allows for open and transparent events
with challenge and debate and will ensure that lawful speech can occur on
campuses.
The
government is clear that almost any restriction of lawful speech and/or
academic freedom goes against the fundamental principles of the English HE
sector. All staff and students should feel safe to challenge conventional
wisdom by putting forward and discussing ideas within the law that may be
controversial, unpalatable or even offensive. The right to freedom of speech is
not an absolute right - it does not include the right to harass others or
incite others to violence or terrorism. Universities also have responsibilities
under the Equality Act 2010 regarding discrimination and harassment, as well as
under the Prevent Duty. Universities must balance the exercise of their legal
duties on a case-by-case basis.
All HE
providers should have in place procedures for handling student complaints and
if the student is unhappy with their experience, they should use those
processes to complain formally to their provider outlining their concerns.
Where a student complaint cannot be resolved through the institution’s
complaint process, a student at a provider in England or Wales can ask for
their complaint to be reviewed by an independent body - the Office of the
Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA).
We will
continue to work across government to ensure that racism and religious hatred
of any kind is not tolerated anywhere, including in our world-leading universities.
Thank you
for writing on this important matter.’
I hope that
the response from the Minister is reassuring. If you would like to discuss this
further or any other matter, then please do not hesitate to contact me.
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