Academic Freedom: Fines
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled New powers to protect vital free speech at universities, published on 20 April 2026, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the level of fines on the financial sustainability of higher education providers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister
The government, through regulations, sets the parameters within which the Office for Students (OfS) can impose monetary penalties on registered providers. The OfS is an independent regulator, responsible for the regulatory decisions it makes, including the penalties it imposes on higher education providers.
The OfS sets out clearly on its website how it will calculate any monetary penalty, including that it will consider the financial position of any provider in calculating a penalty.
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