What is "Martyn's Law"?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, known as Martyn’s Law, was drafted in response to the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, and is designed to improve public safety by encouraging public venues and spaces to have plans to respond to the threat of terrorist attack.   

The Act received Royal Assent on 3rd April 2025 and will be implemented within two years.  A video explaining the Act can be found here.  

Who it affects and why it matters

The Act affects:

• Public venues with a capacity for over 100 people.
• Public spaces (including event organisers using these locations) and;
• Organisations in publicly accessible locations with more than 250 staff.

Naturally, this includes many of our Village Halls, Community Centres, and Parks.  These spaces will be required to have developed “proportional” plans to respond in the event of a terrorist attack.

It would be easy to think that this Act doesn’t affect our (sometimes) small and / or rural community buildings but the recent tragic attack in Southport have shown that these attacks aren’t just limited to the big arenas with security measures.  Ultimately, regardless of how likely your venue is to be targeted it is better to be prepared and not need to be, than not be prepared and need it, as the saying goes. 

It has been emphasized that the requirements will be proportional and a tiered approach is being taken.  The two tiers are:

• A standard tier (venues with a capacity of 100 – 799) of low-cost, simple, activities to improve preparedness. This is likely to include training, information sharing and completion of a preparedness plan to embed practices, such as locking doors to delay attackers progress or knowledge on lifesaving treatments that can be administered whilst awaiting emergency services.  The overarching aim will be to ensure spaces are better prepared to respond quickly to evolving situations, have awareness of processes they should follow, be able to make rapid decisions and carry out actions that will save lives.
• An enhanced tier (venues with a capacity of over 800) will likely require all the standard tier responses and additionally require a risk assessment to inform the development and implementation of a thorough security plan.  It could include measures such as developing a vigilance and security culture, and / or physical measures like CCTV. 

All measures should be considered to a ‘reasonably practicable’ standard to reduce the risk of attack and its impact, by assessing the balance of risk reduction against the time, money and effort required to achieve a successful level of security preparedness.

Who is responsible?

The Act places responsibility on the person(s) with control of the space or event.  There is also a requirement for co-operation by those who have aspects of control of the premise or event (e.g., the owner of a premise where they are not the operator) where necessary to deliver requirements.

For voluntary sector spaces it seems that the onus falls on the Trustees / Owners, and for Hirers / Event organisers to comply with and support the measures.  Understandably, this raises questions about the impact on spaces and venues that are unstaffed (like Village Halls, parks etc run by charities, community groups or social enterprises and local authorities) and places of worship. 

What should we do?

As of: 30th July 2025

Right now, the Home Office guidance is still being developed, so no one can say with absolute certainty what the right practices are to adopt.  That being said, there are some excellent resources to help you prepare for the guidance to be rolled out, and what to consider when thinking about your own events and activities. 

Where to get info

• ACT in a box – this is an series of immersive digital exercises aimed at helping you consider how you would respond to different attacks.   
• Summer Campaign Digital Toolkit – to help raise public awareness of what to do if they are concerned.  
• Risk Management Process - a guide on what to think about including when carrying out a risk assessment.  This also helps you to think about what other policies you might need to consider (such as Lone Working). 
• National Protective Security Authority Guidance – these guides for venues, events and public spaces consider different types of threat, what they are, what to look for and how to respond.  

Once the guidance has been released ACRE will be working to amend their information sheets, model hire agreement and other resources to ensure these reflect government advice. 

Keeping up to date

We will be keeping our mailing group for Village Halls, Parish Councils, Playing Fields and Recreational Groups updated with news on this Bill.  If you would like to be added to this mailing list, please contact us on office@communityactionnorfolk.org.uk and be sure to include the group you represent.

The Home Office is pleased to share additional material about the Act including a one page leaflet and a myth buster. Download the Martyn's Law Myth Buster here.