The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 ("the Act"), also known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. The Act, named in memory of Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester Arena attack, demonstrates the Government’s intention to strengthen the security of public premises and events for the first time through their Plan for Change campaign.
The threat level from terrorism in the UK is currently “substantial”, meaning an attack is “likely”. Whilst it is not always possible to predict where a terrorist attack might occur, the intention behind the Act is to ensure the public are better protected from terrorism by requiring those responsible for certain public premises and events to take steps to be prepared and ready to respond in the event of an attack. Certain larger premises will also be required to consider and take steps to reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism.
Brodies previously looked at the impact of Martyn’s law from a regulatory perspective while the Bill was at a relatively early stage, including who the Act will apply to and how it will be regulated. The final version of the legislation is in a very similar form. As a reminder:
- The measures will apply to premises in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland used for "qualifying activities" that are set out in the Act. "Qualifying activities" are where the public has access to a venue or premises; some examples include concerts, sporting events, markets, cinemas, shopping centres, schools, hospitals and churches.
- A two-tiered approach has been established, with those responsible for premises and events required to fulfil different requirements according to the number of individuals it is reasonable to expect may be present at the same time. "Standard tier" premises and events are those where it is expected between 200 and 799 individuals will be present, with "enhanced tier" being those where it is expected 800 or more individuals will be present.
- Some premises are excluded. This may be because they are subject to existing legislative requirements to mitigate threat.
- The Security Industry Authority (SIA) will act as the regulator of the Act and will provide support to businesses to comply with the requirements.
- Where a duty holder fails to comply with their duties under the Act, the SIA will have the power to serve a penalty notice and impose a non-compliance penalty up to the greater of £18 million or 5% of the organisation's most recent worldwide revenue. Failure to comply with a penalty notice will be a criminal offence, punishable by an unlimited fine and/or up to two years' imprisonment.
Now that the Act has received Royal Assent, the focus will be on its practical implementation. It is expected that there will be an implementation period of at least 24 months before the Act comes into force. This time is required to allow the government to publish guidance on how duty holders can comply with their responsibilities under the new Act. Guidance may take into account the nature of a duty holder's activities, operating environment and available resources. The SIA will also publish guidance on how they intend to enforce this legislation, so that duty holders have clarity on how they can best protect themselves from enforcement action.
Brodies will continue to monitor the implementation of the Act and will provide further updates when they become available. In the meantime, businesses can start to prepare for the implementation of Martyn’s Law by understanding whether their business activities amount to "qualifying activities" under the Act and, if so, whether their premises or events fall within the "standard" or "enhanced" tier. Duty holders can also access free technical guidance and operational advice on protective security on the National Protective Security Authority and ProtectUK websites.
If you have any questions on this new Act, what it might mean for your business and what steps you need to take to ensure compliance, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Brodies Health & Safety Team.
