In order to acquire the information for this report, the following questions were asked of each University in a Freedom of Information request:
- What is the policy of your organisation regarding freedom of expression?
- Does your organisation have a policy / view on the recent report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights on Freedom of Speech in Universities Inquiry? If so, what is this policy / view?
- Does your institution think students should be allowed to express deeply held pro-life convictions?
- Does your Student Union have an official “Pro-Choice Policy”? If so, when was this passed, and does it have an expiration/ renewal date?
- Does your institution have a policy regarding who can use / hire university buildings / facilities? Would your institution allow an external pro-life speaker on campus to speak?
- Does your university have a policy on the Equality Act 2010 and do you promote each protected characteristic equally?
It is worth noting that no university had a policy relating the report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights (question no. 2).
Student Unions are different legal entities from their Universities and are not subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Subsequently, only Aberdeen University offered information on behalf of their Student Union (question no. 4&4a).
The text of the Equality Act 2010 can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
Student Unions are different legal entities from their Universities and are not subject to the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Subsequently, only Aberdeen University offered information on behalf of their Student Union (question no. 4&4a).
The text of the Equality Act 2010 can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents