Martyn’s Law
/by Costanza DragoAuthor: Jigna Vyas Gosal
If you operate a venue with a capacity of 200+, or an event with a capacity of over 800 this will impact you.
In March 2024 we published an article, with an update in November 2024 about The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.
Following agreement by both The House of Lords and The House of Commons on the text of the bill, it received Royal Assent on 3 April. The bill is now an Act of Parliament (law).
The Bill is also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ in tribute to Martyn Hett, who was tragically killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.
What you need to know to ensure compliance with this new law
Martyn’s Law aim is to improve the safety and security of public venues and keep the British public safe from terrorism. Those responsible for public venues and events will have to consider the threat of terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.
Will my centre be affected?
If your venue capacity is under 200 Martyn’s Law will not affect you.
If you run a public centre (see list below) with a capacity of over 200 or an event with a capacity of over 800, you will be eligible under Martyn’s law.
Capacity: The maximum occupancy of the premises meets a specified threshold – either 200+ (Standard Tier) 800+ (Enhanced Tier) or your event has a capacity of 800+
If your public venue provides (qualifying activity):
- Entertainment and leisure
- Retail
- Food and drink
- Museums and galleries
- Sports grounds
- Public areas of local and central government buildings (such as town halls)
- Visitor attractions
- Places of worship, health, and education
Eligible premises will be those which are either:
- a building (including collections of buildings used for the same purposes, e.g. a campus).
- a location/Event (including a temporary event) that has a defined boundary and capacity. So, this excludes a public park garden, recreation or sports ground, where no payment is taken for entry.
Who is the responsible person:
For qualifying venues, the responsible person may be an individual, company or other organisation. The responsible person will be the person in control of the premises. Responsibility cannot be delegated to contracted services.
For qualifying events, the responsible person is the person who has control of the premises where the event is taking place, usually the event organiser.
If you run a venue capacity of 200+ you will need to:
(Standard Tier Requirements)
1. Notify the Regulator, Security Industry Authority (SIA) that you are responsible for the premises. You must also notify the SIA if you are no longer responsible.
2. The responsible person for standard duty premises will be required to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, appropriate public protection procedures are in place at the premises.
Public protection procedures are procedures that may be expected to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals if an act of terrorism is threatened or taking place, at the premises or in the immediate area.
The four types of procedures that must be put in place, as appropriate and reasonably practicable, are:
- Evacuation: The process of getting people safely out of the premises
- Invacuation: The process of bringing people safely into, or to safe parts within, the premises.
- Lockdown: The process of securing the premises to ensure that the entry of any attacker is restricted or prevented e.g. locking doors, closing shutters or using barriers.
- Communication: The process of alerting people on the premises to move them away from any danger.
The responsible person will need to consider what is appropriate and reasonably practicable for their premises. This does not require physical alterations or the purchase of equipment at standard duty premises.
Everyone working on the premises must be made aware of the procedures so that they can be ready to put them into practice.
If you run a venue or event with a capacity of 800+ (Enhanced tier requirements) you will need to comply with the above AND:
1. Designated Senior Individual: Where the responsible person for an enhanced duty premises or event is not an individual, they must appoint a designated senior individual (DSI)
2. The DSI or responsible person has to make sure they have in place appropriate and reasonably practicable measures that could be expected to reduce both
a. the vulnerability of the premises or event to an act of terrorism occurring
b. the risk of physical harm being caused to individuals if an attack was to occur there or nearby.
3. The DSI or responsible person has to document the public protection procedures and measures in place, or proposed to put in place, and provide this document to the Security Industry Authority (SIA). This document should be a thorough and reasonably practicable risk assessment and include a clear security plan.
Places of worship will receive individual treatment. All places of worship will be placed within the standard tier regardless of their capacity. There will be a small number of exceptions across all faiths, for those that charge tourists for entry or hire out the site for large commercial events.
How will this affect accessibility? Most changes will involve security systems, procedures and how staff are trained. If you do make any changes to your venues as a result of Martyn’s law you must ensure that the changes do not limit accessibility.
Enforcing the law
Who is the Regulator? The regulator is the Security Industry Authority (SIA)
There is a planned implementation period of 24 months while the regulator sets up and the Home Office publishes statutory guidance. This also allows premises and events to stocktake and make sure you are compliant with the new law. It is anticipated that no enforcement action will be taken in this Enactment Period.
The Regulators’ first obligation will be to support premises and events to comply with the new law. But the Regulator does have the power to issue compliance notices and monetary penalties to all premises and events that do not comply with the law.
Guidance and support from ProtectUK is available to ensure that those in scope have the required information on what to do and how best to do it.
Martyn’s Law will extend to and apply across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Further information and resources:
Martyns Law Factsheet from the Home Office
