Protect Duty Compliance / Martyn's Law

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, also known as Protect Duty and Martyn’s Law, is being introduced as a direct result of the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, when 22 people attending a concert were killed by a terrorist bomb. The bill has been named after one of the victims of the bombing, Martyn Hett, whose mother Figen Murray has been one of the main driving forces behind its introduction.

It places an onus on those operating public venues and locations with a capacity of at least 100 (with further measures for those with a capacity of 800 or more) to consider and take appropriate steps to protect the public by making sure that they are prepared for and able to respond to a terrorist attack. That includes not just music and other performance venues, but also retail centres, sports stadiums, visitor attractions, beaches, open public spaces and, with limited exemptions, places of worship and educational establishments.

A draft bill was published by the government in May 2023, with Martyn’s Law expected to become law in early 2024.

What will be required by Martyn’s Law?

In order to meet Protect Duty compliance, organisations and venues with a 100+ capacity will need to carry out “appropriate and proportionate measures” such as free training, awareness raising and cascading of important information to relevant staff, together with a plan on how to react to an incident. Larger venues will also need to carry out a terrorism risk assessment to identify potential weak spots.

Each organisation will need to appoint a responsible person, who will ensure it is registered as a qualifying venue and organise appropriate training and emergency planning.

Smaller capacity venues that fail to comply with Martyn’s Law could be liable for fines of up to £10,000, while the larger venues could be subject to fines of up to £18 million or 5% of their qualifying worldwide income, whichever is greater.

In order to help our customers meet the requirements of Martyn’s Law, Scutum London can provide practical and fully customisable software solutions to put you in control – we can even pack them into a portable data centre for when you’re managing a situation away from your usual place of work.

Be ready to meet the requirements of Martyn’s Law compliance by getting in touch with the security experts at Scutum London today.