Martyn’s Law: Urgent Steps to Protect Your Venue from Terrorism

Attention all venues in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: There is important news regarding the draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as the Protect Duty and Martyn’s Law, as it will be included in the upcoming parliamentary session. It is expected to become law in 2024.  

Martyn’s Law, named in honor of Martyn Hett, a victim of the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack, is a direct result of the Manchester Arena Inquiry findings. It is a testament to enhancing safety measures in public venues and events across the U.K., representing a crucial step in fortifying security protocols to mitigate the risks posed by terrorist activities.

To help educate and prepare venues for Martyn’s Law to take effect, I am sharing the law’s overview and tips to ensure your organization is prepared to meet compliance requirements.

Background and Updates on Martyn’s Law

Martyn’s Law’s goal is to bolster the safety and security measures of public venues and events, ensuring preparedness and protection for employees and staff. It extends its compliance requirements to venues meeting specific criteria:

• Venues with an identifiable physical boundary and restricted access (excluding open public lands).
• Venues categorized into two capacity-based tiers:  
  • Standard tier: capacity ranging from 100 to 799 individuals.
  • Enhanced tier: venues accommodating 800 or more people, acknowledging the potential for severe consequences in case of an attack.

Keep in mind that this Bill is undergoing continuous evaluation to ensure effective implementation. The Government aims to launch a public consultation focusing on standard-tier venue requirements; this will help strike a balance between public protection while minimizing undue burdens, particularly on smaller venues like community halls.

What Is Your Venue’s Responsibility?

Your responsibility will vary depending on your venue’s tier.  

Standard-Tier Venues

If your venue falls under the standard tier category, you will be required to follow these safety measures:

• Attending free preparedness training.
• Raising awareness and communicating this information to staff.
• Completing an emergency preparedness plan.

The aim is to ensure staff are better prepared to respond quickly to evolving situations, are aware of emergency processes and can make rapid decisions while carrying out actions that will save lives. Training in Counter Terrorism Awareness will be required for a percentage of standard-tier venue staff.  This awareness and response curriculum must be included in new employee onboarding.

Enhanced-Tier Venues

Enhanced-tier venues must comply with the standard-tier venue obligations listed above. Additionally, enhanced-tier venues are tasked with fulfilling the following requirements:

• Registering with the regulator overseeing their premises or events.
• Implementing “reasonably practicable" measures to minimize the risk of terrorist attacks or physical harm. The “reasonably practicable” test is utilized in other regulatory regimes (e.g., Health and Safety) and will enable your organization to tailor your approach to the nature of your premises, activities and resources.
• Developing and maintaining a security document, including a terrorism risk assessment, to be shared with the regulator.
• Appointing a designated senior individual for the premise or event if the responsible entity is a corporate body.

5 Ways to Prepare Your Venue for Martyn’s Law Compliance

There are a few responsibilities that will be easy for venues to meet – such as attending free training, raising awareness and sharing this information with staff. However, many venues might need guidance creating an emergency preparedness plan, implementing safety measures and maintaining security documents.

This is where Momentus Technologies comes in. Our event risk and incident management software is built to meet these exact requirements. Let’s review five ways our solutions ensure your venue not only adheres to Martyn’s Law requirements but maintains excellent event risk and incident management practices.

1. Identify, Assess and Control Foreseeable Risks

Momentus Technologies’ event and risk incident management software helps venues pinpoint all foreseeable causes of risk, such as hazards or deliberate threats to safety and security. Venues can also measure the magnitude, consequences and likelihood of danger using our risk analysis options. Our risk evaluation tool allows you to compare the size and criteria of a risk to determine its severity.

2. Conduct Secure Venue Checks

Plan, map and schedule your venue checks program. With central dashboards providing live visibility and audits over all active venue checks, you will feel more secure about the readiness of your event.

3. Handle Incident Management Quickly and Effectively

Be ready for when something goes wrong. With contingency planning and checklists, geolocation systems like what3words, a superb mobile experience, audit trails and bespoke reports for post-event wrap-up, you will be ready to manage issues properly.

4.Enable Dynamic Job Fulfillment for Staff

Create, track and manage multiple jobs and tasks across your venues and events. Tackle anything from maintenance issues and incident-related tasks to standard operating plans and end-of-day reporting.

5. Record and Report in Real Time

Risk recording and reporting requires each staff member in charge to document their risk control or mitigation measure’s status and provide real-time progress reports to senior management. This step ensures all senior leadership is updated on risk management progress activities.

Take Control of Your Venue’s Safety Measures

Martyn's Law is a critical stride toward fortifying venue safety and resilience against potential terrorist threats. As it undergoes review and consultation, its implementation promises to enhance preparedness, prioritizing public safety without overwhelming smaller establishments.

Your venue must be prepared and have confidence in the efficiency, security and accountability of your operations. Our event risk and incident management software gives you the tools to assess risks, implement security measures, resolve incidents and provide audits and reports—all while protecting and training your employees.  

Contact us today to discover how Momentus can help your venue prepare for Martyn’s Law.