THE owners of licensed premises in the UK are being urged to act swiftly to increase security and anti-terrorism measures as the new ‘Martyn’s Law’ edges closer to being introduced.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, requiring public venues to introduce measures to improve safety and protection, was recently brought forward to Parliament, and is currently undergoing Parliamentary scrutiny.
The bill, known as Martyn’s Law, emerged in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, when 29-year-old Martyn Hett was one of 22 people killed. His mother, Figen Murray, has tirelessly campaigned for the changes.
In September, a new government ‘fact sheet’ was put in place, meaning many licensed premises now need act swiftly to aid preparations.
Melissa Haskell, licensing expert and director at Knights, the UK’s largest regional legal services business, said:
“These new requirements will affect a range of businesses in the food and drink, entertainment, retail and sporting industries and beyond.
“They must have public protection procedures in place for when the legislation comes in. Now it has been introduced to Parliament, preparations must step up. The process can often be really swift and we know that many businesses are worrying about getting the right plan in place in time.
Based on their capacity, venues will need to meet different requirements. Premises with a capacity of between 200 and 799 will be classed as a ‘standard tier’ and be required to notify a regulator and have in place public protection procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm in the event of an attack. These will include locking doors, closing shutters and identifying safe routes.
Those with a higher capacity of 800 and more will be in an ‘enhanced tier’ which requires them to take ‘reasonably practicable’ measures to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack occurring or physical harm being caused. Measures include hiring security staff or increasing CCTV.
“As well as licensed premises, the 200-plus capacity could include charities, health and education organisations, sporting grounds and visitor attractions through to hospitals and even supermarkets,” said Melissa. “But the tiered approach can help to narrow down what actions a business needs to take and the support they need to enact those defence mechanisms.
“We have been discussing with clients the need to prepare security plans and develop best practice. They can consider terrorism risk management guides that are already in circulation, identify a responsible person to oversee the implementation of the requirements, and potentially understand the different levels of UK terrorism threats.
“They need to update staff training so that they can respond to not only an attack but the threat of one – and the likely methods they would need to escalate their response, such as an evacuation. Larger venues might need to run realistic scenarios of what a threat looks like.”
Melissa believes businesses could designate a person or team with ‘Martyn’s Law’ responsibilities, just as they might have a trained first aider or fire safety warden.
However, she asked: “Would they always have to be on site during operating hours or be contactable? Hospitality can also have a high turnover of staff, especially seasonally – do they have to train everyone?
“There’s obviously a cost element, especially to our big arena and shopping mall clients who have the larger capacity. And there is a big responsibility on a designated person or team, although having some kind of qualification or certificate could be beneficial for them and prove attractive to employers.”
Melissa added: “Risk assessments will be very important and it is also crucial for businesses to understand the liability that they will be accepting – and to ensure they are properly insured against the risk.
“All businesses will face some level of change. We are urging people to have everything in place as soon as possible and to have their finances prepared as it will be implemented very soon, once the Parliamentary scrutiny process has concluded.
“It would also be good practice for premises that fall outside the scope of the legislation – with a capacity under 200 – to take voluntary steps in training their staff.”
A final refinement to September’s bill was confirmation that the Security Industry Authority (SIA) will act as the regulatory body overseeing the law, a point which Melissa believes could lead to confusion around culpability if there is a breach of security.
“The SIA holds considerable experience in helping increase public safety measures, however its yet to be determined how exactly this process will unfold, and exactly who is accountable,” she said. “Businesses or venue operators might hire an SIA agency, but what happens in the event of an incident, and there are subsequent legal proceedings involved? Is the premises licence holder/landlord at fault, or the SIA agency?
“These are the clarifications we expect to be evaluated over the coming months as the scrutiny process concludes, and we have much more robust and secure anti-terrorism measures for public venues in the UK.”
