Martyn’s Law Simplified – Get Prepared & Ensure Compliance
Martyn’s Law, officially called The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025, with a 24 month implementation period given to allow companies time to adjust and put in place measures to comply with the legislation. Compliance will become a legal requirement as of 3rd April 2027.
In this article we will cover:
- What is the purpose of Martyn’s Law?
- Who does it apply to?
- What are the compliance tiers?
- How do you ensure compliance?
- How can Fire & Safety Centre support you?
What is the purpose of Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law is in response to the Manchester Arena bombing that followed an Ariana Grande concert on 22nd May 2017, killing 22 people and injuring over 1,000 more. Figen Murray’s son, Martyn Hett was one of the victims of this terror attack and is the individual the legislation is named after.
Following the attack, after finding that there was no law requiring basic security in public venues, Figen Murray campaigned extensively for increased legal requirements around venue security. Over 7 years of campaigning by Figen resulted in the creation of Martyn’s Law.
The Government has stated the purpose of Martyn’s Law is to ensure consistency and better outcomes of protective security and counter-terrorism preparedness measures, which an absence in legislation has often left lagging behind more regulated areas of health and safety.
Who does Martyn’s Law apply to?
This is quite simple, Martyn’s Law applies to any premises, venue or event where more than 200 members of the public can be expected to gather at one time. Some examples of affected industries are cinemas, arenas, hospitality, education, places of worship, theme parks, sports venues, etc.
Still not sure if you’re covered? Fortunately, the Home Office has put together a simple guide on what events/premises the legislation applies to. See here for events or for premises.
What are the compliance tiers?
The legislation introduces two compliance tiers that dictate the levels of security and measures required for compliance. The two tiers are standard and enhanced, these are decided by the number of people attending the premises/venue/event.
Standard tier – 200-799 people
Enhanced tier – 800+ people
Both tiers have different requirements for compliance.
Standard Tier Compliance
Those that bear compliance responsibilities under the standard tier are the Responsible Person (having legal responsibility for managing the premises) and Relevant Workers (staff with roles requiring terrorism-protection training). For more information on determining who the Responsible Person is, you can visit the Home Office guidance here.
Compliance requirements:
- The Responsible Person must notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) that they are responsible for the premises/venue/event
- Appropriate public protection procedures must be in place including for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication
- Relevant Workers must understand the procedures in place and any actions they are expected to take during an incident
Good Practice
It is also good practice to:
- Document key decisions and procedures
- Review procedures regularly
- Provide regular refresher training for staff
- Record training and exercise outcomes
Free Online Training Options
- Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training is available here
- National Protective Security Authority SCaN for All Staff training can be found here
Enhanced Tier Compliance
Those that bear compliance responsibilities under the enhanced tier are the Responsible Person (having legal responsibility for managing the premises), Relevant Workers (staff with roles requiring terrorism-protection training) and the Designated Senior Individual.
The enhanced tier must meet the requirements of the standard tier above, as well as meeting some additional requirements:
- Appoint a Designated Senior Individual (DIS) responsible for coordinating compliance throughout the organisation
- Complete a terrorism risk assessment covering: potential threats to the premises, vulnerabilities, impact on visitors, existing procedures and opportunities to reduce vulnerabilities
- Create and maintain a detailed security plan including: clearly defined roles/responsibilities, protective measures, surveillance, access control, visitor management, emergency response arrangements, communication/escalation procedures and procedures for reviewing and updating the security plan
- Relevant Workers must receive training and instruction proportionate to their role and this should be reviewed regularly
- Where responsibility is shared, organisations must cooperate to ensure compliance across duty holders
- Organisations must be able to evidence that protective security and preparedness decisions are based on identified risks and vulnerabilities.
How can Fire & Safety Centre support you?
Martyn’s Law as well as The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and The Fire Safety Act 2021, all have requirements surrounding evacuation. Martyn’s Law requires evacuation and invacuation procedures to be in place to get members of the public to safety in the event of a terror attack.
It is essential that everyone can be safely evacuated or invacuated in an emergency, however, some people may not be able to evacuate/invacuate unaided. All of this legislation provides a legal responsibility to ensure safe evacuation, including for individuals that might need assistance evacuating themselves. This can include people with permanent impairments like wheelchair users or the elderly, people with temporary impairments like an injury or pregnancy or people with non-visible impairments, such as those with sensory or cognitive needs.
Fire & Safety Centre offers:
Evacuation Chairs for safe stairway evacuation and invacuation.
Evacuation Chair Training to ensure staff meet any legislative training requirements.
Evacuation Chair Servicing to support safety equipment maintenance regulations.
To cover all your evacuation and invacuation needs, explore our full range of Emergency Evacuation Equipment!
Public Access Trauma PAcT First Aid Kit designed to provide emergency first aid in the event of a terror attack, able to treat serious injuries.
Gerda Standard Premises Information Box, part of an effective emergency response is being able to collaborate with emergency services. Quick and easy access to building plans can help inform the emergency services’ approach and can aid in coordinating evacuation and invacuation. These boxes can be a key part of achieving these goals.
If you have any questions about how we can support your compliance, get in touch by calling us on 01724 281044 or by emailing us at sales@fireandsafetycentre.co.uk.