The Protection of Premises (Terrorism) Bill
This page contains information on the Protection of Premises (Terrorism) bill, also know as Martyn's Law. The legislation is aimed at enhancing the security of public spaces in the UK, and reflects on lessons learned from past events, so that persons responsible for premises take reasonable steps to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals.
View the government's website for up to date information:
Capacity-based requirements
The Protection of Premises (Terrorism) Bill applies to certain activities and events with a size capacity, but the advice and guidance can also be used to protect staff and the public from any major incident, such as serious violence, or domestic abuse, not just terrorism.
The requirement for implementing steps to reduce the harm to individuals varies based on a venue's capacity, and is split into two tiers.
- Standard tier - premises that may host from 200-799 persons at the same time
- Enhanced tier - premises that may host 800 or more persons at the same time
Further guidance on the expectations for premises is to be provided by the Home Office, we will provide a link to that guidance once it has been published.
Please note, there are no organisations or agencies currently recognised as being able to provide security advice on Martyn's Law.
What is terrorism?
Terrorism is the use of violence, intimidation or cyber-attack to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals. It often targets civilians and attempts to spark fear amongst the general population.
Helpful tools and resources
The Protect UK website contains a wealth of information on Martyn’s Law, guidance on how to implement steps for the reduction of harm and e-learning courses to upskill your workforce on the potential threats you may encounter.
ACT in a BOX exercises from ProtectUK - this training exercise enables businesses to understand their response to a fictional terrorist incident on or near their premises. There are multiple scenarios to choose from.