Here’s to safer nights out for all
Caroline Loudon says a new law should keep people safer from attack in public spaces, but it may be a headache for venues
In April this year, new legislation compelling public premises to prepare for and mitigate against terrorist attacks received royal assent. Martyn’s Law, formally known as the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2005 is now subject to an implementation period during which businesses across the four UK nations must prepare for new obligations and upcoming changes.
Responsibilities will need to be determined, and action taken by premises where members of the public have access to ensure compliance and guard against prosecution. Failure to prepare could lead at best, to reputational damage and prosecution and, at worst, to poor preparedness for a terrorist attack.
The breadth of venues impacted by this new law is huge and includes retail locations, stadiums, hospitality venues, cinemas, cultural spaces such as museums and galleries, places of worship, schools and hospitals. It introduces a “tiered duty” system, meaning anywhere it is reasonable to expect 200 or more persons to be present at any one time will be considered as ‘standard tier’ venues, with an ‘enhanced tier’ for venues with a capacity of 800 or more persons.
As a first step, affected businesses should identify two things: firstly, which ‘tier’ the premises fall into and secondly the person in ‘control’ of the premises. This could be an owner-occupier, landlord, tenant, building manager or in some cases, more than one person. Where this is the case, they will need to work together to fulfil their respective duties.
Once the person in control is established, they will need to inform the Security Industry Authority (SIA) of their premises and review their public protection procedures. Many venues will already have protection policies in place, under existing health and safety, fire protection legislation and through the licensing system. These policies will form a solid foundation for compliance with Martyn’s Law.
All premises with capacity of over 200 persons will also now need a specific counter-terrorism risk-assessment, counter-terrorism policy and specific training for staff based on legal requirements. A counter-terrorism policy will need to be put in place that deals with evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safe place), locking down premises, and communicating with individuals on the premises.
For enhanced tier premises, the requirements will be more stringent and involve a more proactive approach. Venues that fall into this category will be required to undertake the risk assessments and policies mentioned above, but also take such measures to prevent terrorist attacks as are reasonably practicable. In some cases, this could require physical changes or additions to the venue, such as CCTV equipment, barriers or glass screens. Additional security measures such as security around bag checks/scanning should also be considered.
In addition to the premises covered by the bill, there will be hundreds more across Scotland that do not reach the capacity threshold for ‘standard tier’ and are not technically required to act in response to Martyn’s Law. However, the stated purpose of the law is to protect the public from terrorism and maximise confidence in safety when visiting public spaces. As such, we would strongly encourage all public premises to follow at least the guidance for “standard tier” venues, regardless of whether they are likely to meet the 200-person threshold.
It is a sad truth that the risk of terrorism is ever-present in modern life. This legislation is intended to steer public premises towards preparedness and safer operations. All qualifying premises should seek professional legal advice now in order to ensure compliance by April 2027.
Caroline Loudon is a Partner, TLT Law