The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as ‘Martyn’s Law’

Ariana Grande’s concert at the Manchester Arena in 2017 should have been remembered by the 14,200 attendees as an exciting day out with friends and family. Unfortunately, however, the brutal terrorist attack that took place which claimed the lives of 22 people, the youngest being just 8 years old, has scarred that memory.

The campaign of Figen Murray, a mother who lost her son in the bombing, has led to The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, which received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.

Martyn’s Law will place a duty on venues and events across the UK to better protect the public from terrorist attacks.

Which premises and events will Martyn’s Law apply to?

All venues that may expect to have over 200 individuals present at the same time are considered ‘qualifying premises’ and fall within the scope of Martyn’s Law.

Martyn’s Law establishes a tiered approach by categorising qualifying premises into either ‘standard duty’ or ‘enhanced duty premises’. Enhanced duty premises will have greater responsibility requirements than standard duty premises.

Standard duty premises

For a premises to be considered ‘standard duty’ it must:

• Consist of a building (including part of a building) or a combination of buildings and land, for example a pub and its beer garden;
• Be wholly or mainly used for one or more Schedule 1 uses (discussed below);
• Not be subject to any Schedule 2 exemption (discussed below);
• Be reasonable to expect between 200 to 799 individuals (including staff) to be present at the venue at any one time;

Enhanced duty premises

For a premises to be considered an ‘enhanced duty premises’ it must fulfil all the same criteria that a standard duty premises fulfils but it may be reasonable to expect 800 or more individuals (including staff) to be present at the same time, rather than between 200 to 799.

Qualifying events

For an event to be considered a ‘qualifying event’ it must:

• Be held in a premises that consists of a building (including part of a building), other land, or a combination of both;
• Be held in a premises that is not an enhanced duty premises;
• Be open to members of the public to attend;
• Be reasonable to expect 800 or more individuals (including staff) to be present at the same time at some point during the event;
• Not be excluded by Schedule 2 exemptions; and
• Be staffed by individuals who check tickets or passes (whether free or paid) or take payment for attendance.

Schedule 1 uses and Schedule 2 exemptions

All premises and events which fall within the scope of Martyn’s Law must relate to a Schedule 1 activity. These include retail shops, entertainment venues, restaurants, museums, hotels, hospitals and many other uses.  It is therefore important to check the Schedule 1 list of activities in full, to check what uses are caught.

Schedule 1 also provides that premises that are used for certain specific activities will always be considered standard duty premises regardless of the fact that 800 or more individuals may be in attendance at the same time. These include places of worship and buildings used for childcare, schools and colleges (but not higher education, such as universities).

Some premises are excluded from the requirements of Martyn’s Law. These  include parks, gardens, open-air recreation or sports grounds or other open-air premises (so long as access to them is not secure or restricted, in which case they may not be considered excluded) and transport premises that are already subject to existing legislative requirements.

What measures are going to be put in place?

The responsible person

Martyn’s Law will ensure that premises and events are better prepared for terrorist attacks by placing a duty on a ‘responsible person’ (“RP”) to put procedures and measures in place which will mitigate the impact of such an attack. The RP will have to make an assessment on how many people they expect to attend the premises or event at the same time. There is no fixed calculation that the RP must follow but instead they will have to draw on a range of methods such as historic ticketing data and seating or standing plans to come to a reasonable figure. The RP strictly cannot delegate their responsibility.

Standard duty premises requirements

• Notification – premises must notify the regulatory body of who the RP is.
• Public protection procedures – these are procedures aimed at reducing the risk of harm to attendees if an act of terrorism occurred at the premises or event. There are four types of procedures that every qualifying premises must put in place. These are:

1. 1. Evacuation – make sure individuals can leave the premises safely.
   2. Invacuation – this involves bringing attendees into certain areas to protect them from harm.
   3. Lockdown – securing the premises by, for example, locking doors, closing blinds, turning lights off.
   4. Communication – staff must be able to communicate with each other and also alert individuals to danger or give them information effectively.

Enhanced duty premises requirements

Enhanced duty premises must comply with all the same procedures as standard duty premises. In addition to these, such premises must consider designating a senior individual who may be a director or partner for example, rather than a lower-level employee, and also put into place public protection measures. These measures are designed to be proactive and preventative rather than reactive and they must be tailored to each venue. There are four types of measures that RPs must put in place:

1. Monitoring measures such as installing CCTV cameras at entrances and exits.
2. Measures that control the movement of people.
3. Measures that relate to physical safety such as designating stand-off zones which place distance between one location and another.
4. Measures that protect the security of information so that it does not get into the hands of someone planning an attack.

The regulatory authority

The Government has stipulated that the Security Industry Authority (“SIA”) will be the regulator. The SIA will provide guidance and advice on how to comply with Martyn’s Law. It will also be given powers to inspect premises, gather information and impose civil sanctions on premises and events which do not comply with the legal requirements.

Licence plans

Martyn’s Law provides includes an amendment to the Licensing Act 2003 intended to reduce the risk of sensitive information contained within licence plans being available to the public.  Applicants for licences will be required to provide two plans to the Licensing Authority: one less detailed plan which will be available to view by the public, and one more detailed plan which will only be seen by the Licensing Authority.

Timings

Martyn’s Law was enacted on 3 April 2025, but we expect implementation within the next 24 months. This means that the measures do not need to be complied with until regulations bring them into force.

Please do contact the Commercial Real Estate and Licensing Team at Winckworth Sherwood if you have any queries.