‘Martyn’s Law’: planning for success

By Stephen O’Connell, Commercial Manager, Netgenium

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, commonly known as ‘Martyn's Law’, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. The legislation intends to improve safety in places of worship if a terrorist attack strikes and organisations currently have a minimum 24-month implementation period, expected to run until around April 2027, to prepare for compliance.

Government analysis indicates that well over 150,000 or more public-facing venues, which include primary and secondary schools through to places of worship and retail and hospitality venues across the UK, are expected to be covered by the law. Other estimates place this figure even higher at 250,000. 

It’s widely acknowledged that ‘Martyn’s Law’ aims to strike a balance between public safety and the burden on premises. As with most legislative reform however, there are mixed views on whether it goes far enough. It introduces a tiered approach, requiring different security measures based on venue capacity, with many people pointing to improved preparedness and victims' families seeing it as a huge step forward. What’s also widely recognised is that for smaller venues, there will be some concerns and potential implementation challenges. This all highlights the need for clear guidance and central government backing. 

The law sets out different requirements for Standard Tier premises, which would have a capacity of 200 - 799 individuals, and Enhanced Tier premises and qualifying public events, both of which have a capacity of 800 individuals or more. Even if their capacity is 800 or over, childcare or primary, secondary, or further education premises still fall within the Standard Tier. The requirements for Standard Tier premises are intended to follow the established concept of being appropriate and reasonably practicable. The objective of the requirements is to implement simple procedures that could reduce harm and save lives in an attack. It's important to note at this stage that official guidance on implementation and compliance is still to be published and is expected during the 24-month transition period.

While the new law is fairly broad in its reach, understanding and planning for emergency protocols, lockdown for internal threats, evacuation for incidents requiring site clearance and an emergency procedure that moves people to a secure, sheltered area inside a building when a threat is outside and it is safer to remain inside than evacuate the premises (an invacuation for external threats), is vital for developing an effective critical incident response plan that aligns with ‘Martyn’s Law’ and fulfils safeguarding responsibilities.

Measures

While many large premises and events will already have good anti-terrorism and security measures in place, those responsible for managing property and protecting people will almost certainly need to upgrade their practices and better protect facilities. In short, they need to consider the measures and procedures they will need to have in place. They may not always understand what is required and need to be clear themselves about how do I want to comply with Martyn’s Law and the help that’s available out there in the market place to ensure they arrive at the right solution to ensure compliance.

It will generally be the occupier of the property who is responsible for these duties. However, for some sites such as shopping centres, the landlord will be responsible for security in the common areas, while tenants will be responsible for their units. It may be that a large individual unit is subject to standard duties, but these sites as a whole are subject to enhanced duties. Landlords and tenants will need to cooperate to ensure that these new requirements are met.

So where to begin? The principles of counter terrorism protect and prepare should be adopted by venues and organisations of any size to ensure communities are safeguarded. A good start is a review of your premises classification and occupancy. This can be followed by identifying your responsible person(s) and initiating some planning emergency messaging and communication protocols before moving on to train staff and test procedures. 

Check whether existing systems can deliver alerts quickly, clearly, and site-wide. Formulating plans and procedures should also focus on how to direct people towards the most appropriate locations, how your site can lockdown and provide refuge for those on-site and an effective mechanism to communicate quickly and effectively with the appropriate people on the site.

Unified strategy

Developing a comprehensive approach to emergency communication will ensure compliance with ‘Martyn's Law’ while benefiting from a robust solution that supports your operations. Unified IP-based systems, when deployed strategically, support compliance and ensure that safety, experience, and operational continuity coexist even in the most high-pressure safety and security environments. 

The goal for organisations is to ensure property and people are safe and secure as possible without limitations on freedom and liberty. Physical security can only go so far in fulfilling this, but when it works hand in hand with a unified tech strategy, the chances of things running smoothly are always heightened.