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.
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:
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.
Your responsibility will vary depending on your venue’s tier.
If your venue falls under the standard tier category, you will be required to follow these safety measures:
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 must comply with the standard-tier venue obligations listed above. Additionally, enhanced-tier venues are tasked with fulfilling the following requirements:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.