Universities in England that fail to protect free speech could face fines of £500,000 or 2% of their income, and in some cases risk losing public funding, under a new complaints system, the government has said.

The Office for Students (OfS) would run a “first-of-its-kind” scheme from the new academic year allowing university staff, external speakers, and non-student members to raise concerns about providers, the Department for Education (DfE) said.

The higher education regulator will investigate complaints and can recommend that universities review decisions, pay compensation or improve their processes.

From next April, new conditions of registration for providers will mean the OfS can fine universities for breaches of their duties under the Freedom of Speech Act.

The OfS said it had received reports of speakers and lecturers being “harassed and blocked” because of gender-critical or religious views, concerns about foreign interference restricting academic freedom, and job adverts requiring specific ideological beliefs.

The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “Freedom of speech is the foundation of every university’s success, enabling them to foster robust debate and exchange challenging ideas respectfully. But there are far too many cases where academics and speakers are being silenced, inciting an unacceptable culture of fear and stifling the pursuit of knowledge.

“The urgency is clear, which is why we are strengthening protections and empowering the regulator to restore our world-class universities as engines of opportunity, aspiration and growth.”

University staff currently use internal processes and can be forced into costly legal action. The new complaints system would be free and “empower more people to raise concerns confidently”, the DfE said.

Students raise their concerns about freedom of speech via the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act came into force in August, requiring universities and colleges in England to promote academic freedom to ensure discussions can take place on campuses without fear of censorship of students, staff or speakers expressing lawful opinions.

It bans universities from using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in cases of bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct.

Implementation of legislation, which was passed under the previous Conservative government in 2023, was paused by Labour in July 2024 after the general election due to concerns it could be “burdensome” for universities. In January last year, Phillipson announced the government would be pushing ahead with key measures in the act.

The president of Universities UK, Prof Malcolm Press, said members would be supported to comply with the new rules. He said: “Protecting free speech while preventing harassment, hate speech and radicalisation are complex tasks involving finely balanced decisions. It is important that the OfS discharges its new responsibilities fairly, transparently and proportionately.”

The shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, said academics had been left “exposed to censorship with no clear route of redress”. She said: “Protecting free speech in our universities is fundamental to academic freedom, and this step is welcome but long overdue after years of delay from Labour.”