Martyn’s Law Introduced

What is Martyn’s Law?

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, otherwise known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on the 3rd of April 2025. There will be an implementation period of two years before the Act comes into force to enable premises to act on their new obligations. The purpose of Martyn’s Law is to provide a framework whereby premises with certain capacities are prepared for, and protected against, terrorist attacks to reduce their impact. The driving force behind the proposed legislation is Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett who was tragically killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. Martyn’s Law legislation will apply across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.


The aim of Martyn’s Law is to improve the safety and security of public venues and keep the public safe from terrorism. The Law will ensure that public premises that reasonably expect 200 – 799 individuals to be present at the same time will be covered by the STANDARD TIER. Premises or events reasonably expecting 800 or more individuals to be present at the same time will be covered by the ENHANCED TIER. Apart from the capacity, premises that fall within the scope of the new legislation must be accessible to the public and used for a purpose listed in the Act such as entertainment, retail, leisure etc. so will include music venues, theatres, and department stores. Provision has been made for temporary event spaces such as festivals.

A Government Regulator will be established through a new function of the Security Industry Authority (SIA). Refer factsheet here.

Requirements:

STANDARD TIER

There were several concerns raised during consultations under the last Government with an emphasis on avoiding undue burdens on smaller premises whilst ensuring public protection. Premises within the standard tier will be required to have in place appropriate and reasonably practicable public protection procedures to reduce the risk of physical harm in the event of an attack. Venues that fall into the standard tier must notify the Regulator they have become responsible for premises within the scope of the Act.
Broadly, it is not expected that physical alterations be undertaken at standard tier premises however, workers will need to be sufficiently instructed or trained to conduct procedural measures effectively. It should be noted that all schools and places of worship will be placed within the Standard Tier regardless of their capacity.

IMPACT ON SCHOOLS


All schools, irrespective of their capacity, will fall under the STANDARD TIER. During the two-year implementation period schools will be advised to take reasonable steps to improve their preparedness for potential threats. Schools should be reviewing their current arrangements via enhanced security risk assessments and training, with an emphasis on those risks from terrorism. They should be undertaking a terrorism risk assessment, a draft evaluation of which has been published by the Home Office Draft your evaluation.

A natural area for review will be the school’s lockdown procedure. We know that a school’s lockdown alert must sound distinctive to the fire alert, as one means stay on the premises and find a place of safety whilst the other is to evacuate. To solidify their processes, the draft terrorism risk assessment asks how people on the premises will be informed that it has locked down and that they should not attempt to leave due to a threat outside.

Schools may therefore wish to introduce a quickly identifiable audible and/or visual alert system as part of their preparedness. At the very least schools should be reviewing their current emergency plans and seeking security advice.

Compliance with Martyn’s Law is likely to form part of the Ofsted inspection process and failure to comply may lead to improvement notices being issued.

It should be noted that whilst all schools, irrespective of capacity will fall under standard tier regulations, higher education premises will be assessed according to capacity as they are generally more openly accessible to members of the public and are more frequently used for events.

ENHANCED TIER

Larger venues must notify the Regulator of their event. They must ensure they take ‘reasonably practicable’ measures to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack occurring or physical harm being caused. They must keep and maintain a security document, aided by an assessment of the terrorism risk. They must also assign a designated senior individual for the premise or event to oversee and ensure compliance with the additional requirements.

Fines for non-compliance are expected to be up to £10,000 for Standard Tier premises and up to £18 million or 5% of global company revenue for Enhanced Tier premises.

The Regulator will monitor compliance and advise premises within the scope of the Bill. Measures to address non-compliance and full monetary sanctions are yet to be announced.

Click here to check out Luminite’s Alertex Range!

Why Are Schools Choosing Wireless Lockdown Systems?

As part of the Ofsted inspection, schools must be able to demonstrate that their lockdown alert is distinct in sound from their fire alert as one means stay and the other means evacuate.

The ALERTEX range of call points and sounder/beacons is the perfect lockdown solution for a school.

The ALERTEX Lockdown system from Luminite is a wireless critical alert system, designed to give a clear alert in the event of an activation.

This is a battery powered system that will, when activated, give an audible and visual Lockdown alert with the aim of minimising disruption to the learning environment whilst ensuring the safety of pupils and staff.

Quick and Easy to Install

Connecting a wired system in schools is costly, invasive and a lengthy undertaking.  Alertex units are delivered pre-programmed so once the batteries are inserted units can be screwed in place and the system is ready.  This is particularly beneficial for older or listed buildings where civil works are often not allowed.

Minimal Disruption

Schools can carry out silent tests of the system at any time meaning there is no disruption to the school day.

Visually and Audibly Distinct

One of the main advantages of the Alertex lockdown system is that it both looks and sounds different to fire alerts. Sounders, beacons and call points are blue and there are 32 alarm sounds to choose from.  Alternatively, sounders can be replaced with annunciators allowing a bespoke message to be aired on activation.

Connect Sites

Many schools and universities have a number of outbuildings and temporary classrooms. Alertex programming allows schools to set different site codes for these areas if they are not part of a lockdown event.

A Connected System

There are a range of additional products in the Alertex range and all of them work on the same mesh protocol including heat and smoke detectors and mobile panic alerts.

An Intelligent System

If required you can add an IP masthead to the system which will give you access to the Alertex PC app designed to monitor and control units. It also allows for email alerts to be sent to key staff to give updates and further information on event activations.

Article by Laura Grainger, Luminite.

For more information on ALERTEX and more Luminite productscall our sales team on 01772 336 111. QED are the main UK distributors for Luminite products.

Security Funding for Places of Worship

Many places of worship find themselves vulnerable to acts of malicious assaults with such institutions particularly threatened due to their open door policy to encourage prayer. Recognising such threats to faith communities, the Government has justlaunched the Places of Worship Fund.

This is aimed at reducing the risk and impact of hate crime via protective security measures such as CCTV, secure fencing, intruder alarms and lockdown systems. Applications are open for the installation of up to three protective security measure at places of worship or associated faith community centres. Applications are open from 19 May until 14 July 2022 and the scheme not only covers equipment and installation but also maintenance costs for one year from the installation date. Please note that the scheme is open to all faiths In England and Wales except the Jewish community which has a separate funding scheme.

The Solution – Alertex Lockdown

As part of their security measures, many places of worship are considering lockdown systems so that if there is a threat of an imminent attack there can be a site wide alert and
all places of entry can be locked. The Alertex wireless critical alert system is already widely used in the education sector and require no cabling or WiFi connection. With a long transmission range of 1km, when one Alertex unit is triggered it will activate all other Alertex units in range with a sounder and flashing blue beacon which differentiates it from a fire alert. There are voice  annunciators available allowing warnings to remain inside to be made in a number of languages if required. Key staff can also utilise the mobile panic alert key fob which when triggered will activate all Alertex units within range.

For more information on Alertex give us a call on 01772 336 111.

 

 

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