Who Does Protect Duty Apply to?

Although there is as yet no fixed date for when it becomes law, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – also known as Protect Duty and Martyn’s Law – is likely to come into force in 2024. 

If yours is one of the many businesses or organisations likely to be affected by Protect Duty, that means that you already need to start getting prepared. But you can’t do that if you’re not even sure whether you’ll be included. This article will provide a guide to the types of businesses that will need to enact some aspects of the new laws, although it should by no means be regarded as a comprehensive list.  

But first, let’s remind ourselves of what Protect Duty is and why it’s being introduced.

What is Protect Duty?

Protect Duty is new legislation being introduced to reflect the duty of care that those managing and operating public spaces and arenas have for their visitors and customers. It came about as a result of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 in which 22 people died. The subsequent inquiry found that the venue was ill-prepared for such an attack, both in terms of measures that could have been taken to minimise the risk of one happening and what kind of response would be needed to protect people in the event of an attack.

Protect Duty is intended to fill those gaps by requiring a wide range of venues and other public areas to put in place a number of measures, with different obligations for those with a capacity of 100 or more and those with a capacity of over 800. You can find out more about what will be required by reading this previous article.

Who will Protect Duty apply to?

Protect Duty is expected to apply to some 650,000 businesses and includes “any place to which the public has access, on payment or otherwise, as of right or by virtue of express or implied permission”, as long as there is capacity for at least 100 people. This includes:

• Public venues, defined as “permanent buildings (e.g. entertainment and sports venues) or temporary event locations (such as outdoor festivals) where there is a defined boundary and open access to the public”. 
• Public spaces, defined as “open public locations which usually have no clear boundaries or well-defined entrances/exit points (e.g. city centre squares, bridges or busy thoroughfares, parks, and beaches)”

That means that all of the following businesses, organisations and locations are likely to be included and covered by the legislation:

• Theatres
• Concert halls 
• Cinemas
• Festivals
• Fairs and fetes
• Sports venues
• Hotels and restaurants
• Shopping centres
• Tourist attractions 
• Circuses
• Government buildings
• Town and city centre squares
• Parks
• Bridges
• Beaches
• Schools
• Churches

How can Scutum London help?

As specialists in all kinds of commercial security solutions, we have been working to develop a comprehensive range of practical and affordable tools that we can offer our customers to help them prepare for the arrival of Protect Duty legislation. 

To that end, we can provide fully customisable software solutions that can be adapted to work alongside your existing infrastructure. We can even pack your personalised solution into a portable data centre if your event requires you to be active in different locations across your site.

Want to know more about Protect Duty and how Scutum London can help businesses in South East England, including London and Surrey, to prepare and be compliant with its requirements? 

Our experienced team is ready to help with all your questions, so please get in touch with us today.