Protection of workers and the public at premises and events (Martyn’s Law)
The threat level from terrorist acts in the UK is currently ‘substantial’, meaning an attack is likely. The government’s counter-terrorism strategy (CONTEST) recognises that a domestic threat ‘is less predictable and harder to detect and investigate’.
The four pillars of CONTEST strategy are:
- Prepare
- Protect
- Pursue
- Prevent
To improve the UK’s preparedness for and protection from terrorist attacks, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 12 September 2024, and is currently going through the parliamentary scrutiny process.
The introduction of legislation and guidance to protect the public was recommended by the Manchester Arena Inquiry and the London Bridge Inquest. The draft Bill proposes to introduce requirements on those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events to implement measures to protect against terrorist attacks. It is also known as "Martyn’s Law" (after Martyn Hett who was one of the victims of the Manchester Arena concert bombing in May 2017).
Responsibility will depend upon the person’s or organisation’s control of qualifying premises or events in connection with their use. The relevant uses are listed in Schedule 1. These are wide and include food and drink retail; entertainment and leisure activities; sports grounds; libraries, museums and galleries; public halls; visitor attractions; healthcare facilities; hotels and university campus'.
Those responsible for certain premises or events will be required to implement "reasonably practicable" public protection procedures and/or measures and these depend on the capacity of the premises.
The ‘reasonably practicable’ test will be a concept which will be familiar to those who exercise judgement through their existing duties under health and safety legislation.
There is a Standard Tier and Enhanced Tier which will be considered in more detail in future publications here. In the September 2024 draft Bill, the threshold capacity number for Standard Tier premises was raised from 100 to 200 persons, to respond to concerns about the potential impact of those with less resources such as village halls and smaller retail businesses. Places of worship, childcare, primary, secondary and further education are proposed not to exceed the Standard Tier.
Enhanced Tier premises and events (800+ persons) will also need to take steps to reduce the vulnerability to terrorist attacks.
Mills & Reeve is following the progress of the draft Bill and the impact it could have from various viewpoints including insurance, entertainment venues and events, education settings, healthcare premises, retail premises and compliance.
Further comments on which premises and events could be impacted and how, will be included in future publications, along with other topics including the role of the proposed regulator (the Security Industry Authority) and proposed penalties and offences.
Under the current draft Bill, the proposed duty is more outcome-focussed - the procedures in place and the actions people who work at a premise should take, if an attack happens, are key.
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