Consultation on the OfS’s new free speech complaints scheme

39. The Act will require the OfS to operate a free speech complaints scheme. The Act also states that the scheme must review free speech complaints.²⁰ In our proposed scheme, we have defined ‘free speech complaint’ in rule 2 and this reflects the requirements of the Act. Free speech complaints must relate to the free speech duties that we have set out at rules 3 and 4.²¹ In this document we refer to those duties as ‘relevant free speech duties’.
40. Under the Act, an eligible person can bring a free speech complaint.²² (Proposal B discusses who is ‘eligible’.) The complaint must be about the governing body of a provider or constituent institution, or about a relevant students’ union (the ‘respondent’).²³ We are proposing that a complaint may be about more than one such body.
41. The Act states that the complaint must make what we are calling ‘free speech claims’. They must claim that the person making the complaint has suffered adverse consequences (which need not be financial) because of something that the respondent has done or not done. For example, a student may have been removed from their course or a member of staff may have been disciplined. They must also claim, or give rise to a question as to whether, the respondent’s action or inaction was a breach of its duty to take reasonably practicable steps to secure free speech within the law.²⁴ This is reflected in proposed rule 2.
42. Under the Act, a free speech complaint may also make other claims, in addition to the ‘free speech claims’ referred to above. This is reflected in proposed rule 7.

[20] HERA Sch. 6A 1(1).

[21] HERA Sch. 6A 2(1) and Sch. 6A 3(1).

[22] HERA Sch. 6A 2(1) and Sch. 6A 3(1).

[23] HERA Sch. 6A 2(1) and Sch. 6A 3(1).

[24] That is, HERA Part A1 section A1 or Part A1 section A5. See HERA Sch. 6A 2(1) and Sch. 6A 3(1).

43. The Act sets out which organisations can be complained about under the scheme and what claims (the ‘free speech claims’ referred to above) a complaint must include. Our proposed scheme rules reflect those requirements.
44. The Act states that a free speech complaint may contain claims that are not free speech claims.²⁵ In Proposal C, we propose that we will only review those other claims if they include information that is relevant to the free speech claims in that complaint.
45. We are proposing that a free speech complaint may be about more than one organisation. We are proposing this because the adverse consequences that a complainant is claiming may relate to the actions or inactions of more than one organisation: for example, a university and a constituent institution of that university. We consider that requiring a complainant to submit separate complaints in those circumstances could create unnecessary burden for them. It could also create delay and inefficiency in our review process.

[25] HERA Sch. 6A 2(3) and Sch. 6A 3(3).