Counter-terrorism bill to be debated

Measures to block extremism on campus will go before Parliament today, writes Alison Goddard.

Anti-terror legislation is due to be introduced to the Commons today. If the counter-terrorism bill is passed, universities will have a statutory duty to prevent individuals from being drawn into terrorism. The legislation also has provisions for the home secretary to ban extremists from university campuses. We have a report, available only to subscribers to HE, which examines the proposals.

The BBC says that young people will be able to undertake a full honours degree while on an apprenticeship. The government will pay two-thirds of the costs and employers will cover wages and other costs. Some 150 people have places on the scheme, which the BBC says involves employers including Accenture, BT, Capgemini, Ford, Fujitsu, GlaxoSmithKline, HM Revenue and Customs, Hewlett Packard, IBM, John Lewis, Lloyds Banking Group, Network Rail and Tata Consulting Services. It says that the academic side of the courses will be provided by universities including Aston, Exeter, Greenwich, Loughborough, Manchester Metropolitan, University College London, the University of the West of England and Winchester.