The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 12 September 2024. Also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’, the bill is named after one of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing victims called Martyn Hett. Martyn’s Law is intended to improve public safety and protect against the threat of terrorism.
If enacted, Martyn’s Law could have wide-ranging implications for property owners and business operators of ‘qualifying premises’. They will be required to ‘consider the terrorist risk and how they would respond to an attack’ and take proportionate protection measures, depending on the size and nature of the premises, to comply with the legislation by reducing ‘the vulnerability of the premises to terrorist attacks’.
This article highlights what premises will be affected if Martyn’s Law is enacted and what measures will need to be taken. We also advise what this means for property owners and business operators going forward and the next steps for them to take.
The definition of ‘qualifying premises’ covers a wide range of premises that are primarily used by the public for one of the uses listed in the schedule to the bill and has a public capacity of 100 or more. The types of properties affected include pubs with a beer garden, racecourses, zoos, theme parks, retail units, hotels, buildings used for health care and education, and universities. Qualifying premises may be contained within other premises, such as a shopping centre.
A tier system will be applied to the qualifying premises based on their maximum occupancy - either 100+ (standard tier) or 800+ (enhanced tier). The requirements for standard tier premises are focused on straightforward, low-cost measures to improve staff preparedness and response.
They will be required to undertake appropriate and reasonable practicable public protection procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals in the event of an attack – such as locking doors, closing shutters and identifying a safe route to cover.
The burden is greater for enhanced tier premises, thereby shouldering more of the cost burden. Enhanced tier premises will be required to implement measures relating to the monitoring of the premises and their immediate vicinity, complete formal documentation evidencing compliance and provide this to the regulator.
The bill had its second reading in parliament on 14 October so whilst it’s not yet currently law, it’s only a matter of time before it could be. Once it comes into force, Martyn’s Law will place a statutory duty on those who have ‘control of the premises’ or are carrying out a qualifying public event to have put the required measures in place. Property owners and business operators will therefore need to understand the scope of the duties and whether it falls to them or a third party to comply.
A ‘responsible person’ will need to be appointed – this will be the person who has control of the qualifying premises or the qualifying event. Registration with the Security Industry Authority, the regulator overseeing compliance, is also necessary.
Failure to comply with the obligations will be an offence with fines ranging from £500 a day plus a £10,000 maximum fixed penalty for standard tier premises to a fixed penalty fine of up to £18m, or 5% of worldwide turnover (whichever is greater) for enhanced tier premises.
The bill also proposes a system of compliance notices and restriction notices, the latter of which can severely curtail the ability to operate the premises, to require responsible persons to take steps to bring premises into compliance. Non-compliance with these notices is also a criminal offence.
The onus will be on the responsible person to prove that they took all reasonably practicable steps to avoid the offence. It’s expected there will be a stringent focus on premises’ risk assessments when considering the adequacy of the measures undertaken. For those familiar with health and safety law, the reverse burden is a high hurdle to overcome in establishing a defence.
Property owners and business operators are therefore advised to start considering if any of their properties would be classed as qualifying premises, what tier they would fall into and therefore what proportionate protection measures they may have to make and the likely cost of these.
They may want to be checking occupational leases and other documentation to see if responsibility falls to a tenant or other third party to manage security and terrorism risks and also whether the additional costs of compliance can be passed on via the service charge. They should also consider what additional insurance may be required and start discussing with their asset managers and/or FM contractors what measures need to be put in place to ensure a smooth transition to compliance.
Forewarned is forearmed, and with no indication on how long will be given to put the required measures in place once the bill becomes law, it would be best to start preparing now.
For further information, please contact our business risk and regulation team.
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