Liverpool Hope Students’ Union

External Speakers

May 2023

Version: 2.1

External Speakers Policy

1        Introduction:

1.1        Liverpool Hope Students’ Union believes that one of the primary roles of universities should be to provide an intellectually stimulating atmosphere. External speakers can play an important role in encouraging debate and developing the analytical skills of students.  They can also increase student participation in both in the Students’ Union and in wider civic engagement.

1.2        However as a registered charity Liverpool Hope Students’ Union has obligations to safeguard its finances and reputation. We also have both a legal and moral duty to protect the general welfare of the student community.  Therefore a policy for managing requests for external speakers is needed.

2        Definition:

2.1        An external speaker shall be defined as an individual who is not a student or member of staff at Liverpool Hope University or Students’ Union who is invited to talk to students and/or attend student led events. The scope of the policy shall encompass all Students’ Union activities irrespective of whether these take place on campus or not. It should be noted that there is no legal distinction between the Students’ Union and its affiliated clubs and societies.

3        The Legal Framework :

3.1        The main pieces of legislation and government guidance that should be considered in conjunction with an external speaker policy are:

• The Prevent Strategy
• The Education (No. 2) Act 1986
• Education Reform Act 1988 – Academic Freedom
• The Human Rights Act 1998
• Discrimination Law – religion and belief
• Public Order Act 1986

4        Policy framework

4.1        The Students’ Union has specific Equal Opportunities and No Platform policies, which are intended to prevent hate speech on campus. In addition the university has specific policies about appropriate use of campus space and safety. This guidance should be read with due regard to them.

5        Procedure

5.1        Any request for external speakers shall be submitted to the Students’ Union on a standardised form no later than 10 working days before the event is due to take place. Details provided shall include

• Date and time
• Location of the event
• Who the intended audience is (e.g. general students or society members)
• Whether the event will be recorded
• How the events will be publicised  - who the invited speaker is and the topic for discussion.

5.2        Upon receipt of the form the Union Development Manager shall conduct a preliminary background research into the speaker and identify if there are any contentious issues.

5.3        If any issues are identified the matter shall be referred to the Students’ Union President or in their absence any other elected Sabbatical officer.  They shall have the power to either:

• Authorise that the event proceeds,
• That the details of the event are amended,
• That the event is cancelled.

5.4        In all cases the Students’ Union President shall invite the proposers of the event to submit their case in person.

5.5        If the proposers are unhappy with the decision of the Students Union President they shall have the right to submit a formal complaint via the usual Students’ Union complaint procedures.  However if they proceed with the event against the instructions of the Students’  Union then the Students’ Union shall reserve the right to invoke its disciplinary procedures.  The Students’ Union shall inform the university of any incidents where restrictions on external speakers are decided so that the university can implement necessary arrangements.

5.6        A log of all requests for external speakers shall be kept by the SU Communities and Events Lead.

5.7        This process shall be outlined to all societies leads at the start of each academic year as part of their training.

5.8         Societies who repeatedly breach any clause in this policy will be asked to attend a meeting with the SU with a view to commencing an investigation as per our policies and procedures.