Martyn's Law

martyn's law:

The United Kingdom faces a paradigm shift in venue security with the impending implementation of the 'Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill', more commonly known as Martyn's Law. Born from a resolve to enhance public safety following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, the legislation mandates rigorous counter-terrorism measures across nearly all venues over 100 person capacity.

Understanding Martyn's Law:

The United Kingdom is taking a significant step forward in bolstering national security through the introduction of the 'Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill'. This legislation marks a pivotal change, requiring for the first time that those in charge of certain venues and events thoroughly assess and mitigate potential terrorist threats. The Bill compels relevant venues and event organisers to evaluate the risk of terrorist attacks and plan their response strategies accordingly.

Tiered approach to legislation

Venues are categorised into two tiers based on their capacity, determining the extent of the security measures they must implement.

This tier is designed to be manageable for smaller venues, ensuring that the legal obligations are reasonable and feasible. The government aims for these regulations to be enduring, accessible, and proportionate for these venues.

The Bill is a comprehensive framework designed to enhance the protective security of venues across the UK, ensuring a robust defence against the threat of terrorism. It balances stringent requirements for larger venues with feasible, practical measures for smaller ones, ensuring a broad and effective implementation of security standards.

Venues in the enhanced tier must adopt more rigorous measures to be prepared for and protected against terrorist attacks.Responsibilities include:

Implementing 'reasonably practicable' security measures, tailored to the venue's characteristics and resources.
Maintaining a detailed security plan, including a terrorism risk assessment.
Appointing a designated senior individual for security if the responsible entity is a corporation.

Why Act Now?

The scope of Martyn's Law is vast, encompassing a wide array of venues. The urgency is twofold: firstly, the anticipated high penalties for non-compliance; secondly the limited number of qualified consultants available for assessments.

‍Don’t get caught out as many did running up to the GDPR implementation, it is expected to be costly to come in the backend of the queue. ‍

‍Consequences of Non-Compliance:

‍Non-compliance carries not just moral responsibility for public safety and reputational damage. Failure to meet these requirements may result in penalties up to £18 million or 5% of worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.