This year, Professional Security Magazine as part of its coverage of Martyn’s Law has focused on sectors – such as places of worship, and pubs and clubs. Andrew Wood writes that most of the talk about Martyn’s Law has been about stadiums, arenas and universities. But most of the premises the Act covers are much smaller: the village hall, the social club, the parish church, the community theatre, the independent music venue. These are standard-tier premises, and they are where most of the work – and most of the confusion – will be.
The duties are not yet in force. The government has committed to an implementation period of at least 24 months from Royal Assent in April 2025, so there is time. But small premises rarely have a security manager, and many are run by volunteers. The sooner they understand what is actually being asked of them, the better.
Who is in the standard tier?
Premises are in scope if they are a building (or a building and other land), they are used wholly or mainly for one of the uses listed in Schedule 1 of the Act – such as retail, food and drink, entertainment, places of worship, visitor attractions and community halls – and it is reasonable to expect 200 or more people to be there at the same time. From 200 to 799 is the standard tier. From 800 upwards is the enhanced tier.
The test is what it is reasonable to expect, not what happens on a quiet Tuesday. A hall that holds a 250-person dance a few times a year is in scope and needs to take that seriously. A venue that will never see more than 120 is not in scope and does not.
What the standard tier asks for
For most small premises, it comes down to three things.
Just as important is what the standard tier does not ask for. There is no requirement to install physical security measures – that duty applies to enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events. There is no legal requirement to produce a formal document and send it to the regulator; that too is for the enhanced tier and events. And there is no need to designate a senior individual. Writing your procedures down is still sensible, because it is the easiest way to make sure everyone knows them – but the law asks for procedures that are in place, not a binder on a shelf.
Where small premises are most likely to get it wrong
What to do now
None of this needs to be expensive. A sensible start for any small premises is to:
Standard tier is deliberately proportionate. It recognises that a village hall is not a stadium. Done well, it should mean that if the worst ever happened, the people on duty would know what to do in the first few minutes – which is when it matters most.
About the author
Andrew Wood is managing partner of arx Partners, which develops the Martyn’s Law Workbook (www.martynslawworkbook.co.uk).
