The Manchester Arena Attack in 2017 killed 22 people, and injured hundreds more. One of those personally affected was Figen Murray OBE, who lost her son Martyn in the attack. Since then, she has led a campaign for legislation to make it mandatory for events and venues to understand and mitigate the risk and consequences of terror attacks. The proposed legislation – the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) bill – is commonly referred to as Martyn’s Law, and the bill has now been presented to the House of Commons.
What does Martyn’s Law mean for your event or location?
Martyn’s Law is now going through the parliamentary process. The draft bill includes two tiers of ‘duty’; ‘standard duty’ applies to events and venues with a capacity of 200-799 people, while ‘enhanced duty’ applies to events and venues with a capacity of 800+.
Although you are not yet legally obliged to comply with the proposed requirements of Martyn’s Law, it is a good idea to start preparing for the legislation. Understanding your specific risk factors and taking steps to improve your resilience and preparedness is a best practice approach, aligned to the principles of Martyn’s Law.
Guide to Martyn’s Law
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In the current draft Martyn’s Law bill, there are two proposed categories:
- Applies to locations and events with a capacity of 200 – 799
- Requires appropriate training for key personnel
- Stipulates a need for understanding risk and having a plan in place to respond to a terrorist attack
- Applies to locations and events with a capacity of 800 or more
- Requires a senior person to be designated with responsibility for counter terrorism risk assessment and planning
- Requires a risk assessment, which should be regularly reviewed
- Requires that ‘reasonably practicable’ actions should be taken to reduce risk
- Requires a security plan, which must be regularly reviewed and provided to the relevant regulator
Our services to help you get ready for Martyn’s Law
At SAFECROWDS, we are already working with venues, stadiums and event organisers to help them understand their risk and take steps to protect their people and premises against terror attacks. Whether you want to get ready for Martyn’s Law or just want to do the right thing to keep people safer, we can help.
Our services include:
- Threat, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (TVRA)
- Vehicle Dynamics Assessment (VDA)
- Counter terrorism training and desk top exercises
- Evacuation and lockdown planning
- Scenario planning and specialist event consultancy
- HVM specification
- HVM installation
- First Aid training
- RAPAID emergency bandage kits
Frequently asked questions about Martyn’s Law
Do I have to comply with Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law is not yet legislation so you do not have to comply with the draft Martyn’s Law bill. However, this may change once Martyn’s Law becomes legislation and, now that the bill has been presented to the House of Commons, we can expect that to happen in the not too distant future.
When will Martyn’s Law become legislation?
No timetable has been set to introduce the legislation. The draft Martyn’s Law bill will need to be passed by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords before it becomes law. However, that process has now started so we can expect it to become law soon.
Will it be expensive to comply with Martyn’s Law?
As the draft bill stands, for those in the ‘Standard Duty’ category, there will be minimal costs other than time to train and carry out risk assessments. Both ACT training (Action Counters Terrorism) and risk assessment templates can be accessed for free from Protect UK. If you fall into the ‘Enhanced Duty’ category, the measures you take to mitigate the risk of terror attacks will depend on your TVRA and VDA. We can work with you to help you mitigate risk while taking into account your commercial and operational needs.
