Martyn's Law: What Your Business Needs To Do

Martyn’s Law, or Protect Duty as it is officially known, came about following the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in May 2017. Martyn Hett was one of the 22 people killed and, in his memory, a campaign was launched for new legislation to ensure that lessons would be learned. 

The Bill will impose a duty on the owners and operators of certain locations to increase their preparedness for and protection from a terrorist attack, by requiring them to take proportionate steps depending on the size of the business and the nature of the activities that take place there.

What premises are included in Martyn's Law?

This law specifies ‘eligible locations’ where ‘qualifying activities’ take place. This will
include locations for purposes such as:

• Entertainment and leisure
• Retail
• Food and drink
• Museums and galleries
• Sports grounds
• Public areas of local and central government buildings (e.g. town halls)
• Visitor attractions
• Temporary events
• Places of worship
• Health
• Education

It is proposed that the duty will apply to eligible premises, which are either: a building(including collections of buildings used for the same purposes, e.g. a campus); or a location/event (including a temporary event) that has a defined boundary, allowing capacity to be known. Eligible locations whose maximum occupancy meets the above-specified thresholds will then be drawn into the relevant tier. 

Proportionality is a fundamental consideration for this legislation. It will therefore establish a tiered model linked to the activity that takes place at a location and its capacity:

A standard tier will drive good preparedness outcomes. Duty holders will be required to undertake simple yet effective activities to improve protective security and preparedness. This will apply to qualifying locations with a maximum capacity of over 100. This could include larger retail stores, bars, or restaurants.

An enhanced tier will see additional requirements placed on high-capacity locations in recognition of the potentially catastrophic consequences of a successful attack. This will apply to locations with a capacity of over 800 people at any time. This could include live music venues, theatres, and department stores. 

Where can I find more advice? 

Government Guidance on the subject is provided in the first instance via the National Counter Terrorism Security Office. NaCTSO has developed an online platform which should be the first point of call for any business looking for further support: 

https://www.protectuk.police.uk/

It should be noted that while many organisations will be looking to approach public venues of all types, there will be some who are looking to capitalise on the opportunity. Free, realistic and practical advice is available locally through CTSA (Counter Terrorism Security Advisers) based within each regional police force 

https://www.police.uk/pu/contact-us/possible-terrorist-activity/contact-a-counter-terrorism-security-adviser-ctsa

Businesses and organisations which fall into the ‘eligible’ category are also encouraged to join their local resilience forum. These groups all over the UK are made up of key people from the emergency services, local councils and organisations in the target industries and are a great way of building a network and learning from best practice. 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-resilience-forums-contact-details

How we can help

If you require further information or any assistance with building an incident management plan or business continuity plan or require advice in developing practical protocols and procedures, contact the team at SK Compliance on 01427 420 404 or email compliance@skaltd.co.uk