Terrorism Bill passes through Parliament and awaits Lords scrutiny

Bill will oblige UK venues hosting more than 200 people to have plans for an attack on their premises, with those housing over 800 people having an “enhanced duty”

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, or Martyn’s Law, named after 29-year-old Martyn Hett who died in the Manchester Arena bombing in May 2017, passed through Parliament in December, on its third reading. It will now face scrutiny in the House of Lords.

The new law is aimed at preventing terror attacks at events venues. It will require all UK premises with a capacity of 200 people — including nightclubs, concert halls, churches and train stations — to have plans in place should an attack occur on their premises.

Dan Jarvis, Minister of State for Security wrote on X, “Another important milestone for Martyn’s Law as the Bill passes its final stage in the Commons...” He added that it was “an honour” to thank Figen Murray, Martyn’s mother, “as she continues to help us in our work to make public spaces safer. Next stop – the Lords.”

The bill would put the onus on those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events, likely organisations rather than individuals, to take ‘reasonably practicable’ steps to reduce the threat to the public from terrorist attacks.

It sets out a tiered approach depending on the activity or event, and the number of individuals reasonably expected to be present on the premises at the same time. Standard duty premises including education settings and places of worship, catering to between 200 and 799 people at a time, would be required to implement public protection measures to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals should an act of terrorism occur in or near the premises.

Bigger venues hosting over 800 people will have an “enhanced duty” and will need to consider how people move in and out of events, and the security of information which might be useful to a person preparing an attack. Such events would be ticketed or otherwise restricted, and venues would need to monitor the premises or event and surrounding area and document compliance with the requirements.

Venues will be required to report to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) watchdog, which will have investigation and enforcement powers and operators may need to make changes to comply with the rules, such as locking doors, closing shutters and identifying safe escape routes.

CIEH argues that collaborative working with environmental health practitioners must be a key priority for the new regulator as they play an important role in ensuring that events are conducted safely, and regulatory compliance is met. Although CIEH was not consulted during the Bill’s committee stage, it submitted a parliamentary briefing for the report stage of Martyn’s Law last month.

‘Our interest in this Bill continues to be gaining assurance that the event safety expertise of environmental health professionals is used to guarantee its success.’

A CIEH statement said: ‘Our interest in this Bill continues to be gaining assurance that the event safety expertise of environmental health professionals is used to guarantee its success.’ It hopes to begin conversations with the Home Office and the SIA throughout its implementation phase to allow EHPs to use their experience and knowledge to help shape the regulatory framework that this legislation will establish.

Some MPs fear smaller venues will be unable to cope with the new requirements and the financial impact and additional bureaucracy it may bring. However, the Home Office says the legislation is “designed with proportionality in mind,” and developed following engagement with the Martyn’s Law campaign team, expert security partners, businesses and local authorities.

Matt Jukes, Head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said: “I welcome the opportunity that this Bill brings to drive greater consistency in the partnership that we already enjoy with businesses and communities...There is an opportunity presented by the framework created by this Bill for people to take simple low or no-cost steps that will save lives.”