Legal: Are you ready for Martyn's Law?

Martyn’s Law, named after one of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, is a wide-ranging bill intended to strengthen the security of public premises and events. It has officially been signed into law, beginning a two-year implementation process before the bill’s provisions come into force.

The Security Industry Authority has been tasked with managing the requirements to “walk those affected towards compliance” and to enforce the law once it is implemented. The SIA will have the power to levy financial penalties for non-compliance and some breaches will create criminal offences.

As such, it is vital that this two-year implementation window is not wasted. Failure to prepare could lead, at best, to reputational damage and prosecution and, at worst, to poor preparedness for an attack.

As public venues, a significant number of pubs and bars in the UK will be covered by the act. The 'standard tier' premises have been defined as those where between 200 and 799 individuals (including staff) may be present at the same time. If your premises can host over 800 people, you are likely to fall within the enhanced tier. Step one, therefore, is to ascertain whether you will fall within one or the other of these tiers.

Next steps – preparing for compliance

Next, all affected venues will need to identify who has ‘control’ of the premises. This person will be responsible for ensuring compliance with Martyn’s Law and could be an owner-occupier, landlord, tenant or even a building manager. Where there is more than one person in 'control', then they will need to work together to fulfil their respective duties.

Ahead of the implementation date (which is TBC) the person in ‘control’ will be required to notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) of their premises and review their public protection procedures. For most venues, this should be a relatively straightforward process. Indeed, venues should already have in place a range of protection policies and measures under fire safety and health and safety laws. These will form a solid foundation for compliance with Martyn’s law, but standard tier premises will need a specific counter-terrorism risk assessment and specific staff training based on the legal requirements. Enhanced tier premises will have more significant duties.

As a bare minimum, a counter terrorism policy will need to be put in place that deals with evacuation, invacuation (moving people to a safe place), locking down the premises and communicating with individuals on the premises. Enhanced tier premises will need to build on this and take such measures to prevent terrorist attacks as are reasonably practicable.

Reasonable measures will differ depending on a venue’s particular circumstances and further guidance is expected to be published between now and when the law comes into force. As always, we would advise that those affected watch out for updated guidance and seek professional legal advice as soon as possible.

Complying with the spirit of the law

Those pub or bar owners in charge of smaller venues, which are unlikely to make the threshold for 'standard tier' status have a choice of whether to obey the letter or the spirit of the new law.

However, given the stated purpose of the Act – to protect the public from terrorism and maximise confidence in safety when visiting public spaces – we would encourage all pubs and bars to follow at least the guidance for 'standard tier' venues, regardless of whether they consider it likely they will meet the 200-person threshold. Given the risk to reputation – and more importantly, staff, customers and yourself– in the event of an incident, it is always best to be prepared.

The sad fact is that terrorist acts are a part of modern life and this legislation reflects that. Martyn’s Law is ultimately intended to help steer businesses, including pubs and bars, towards a better-prepared and safer way of operating. We would advise that owners and operators seek professional legal support to ensure they are prepared ahead of the Act’s implementation deadline.

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