Licensed Premises Urged To Act Now On Anti‑Terrorism Measures
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, requiring public venues to introduce measures to improve safety and protection, was highlighted in the King’s Speech in July as legislation ‘to keep the British public safe from terrorism’.
The bill, known as Martyn’s Law, emerged in the aftermath of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, when 29‑year‑old Martyn Hett was one of 22 people killed. His mother, Figen Murray, has tirelessly campaigned for the changes.
Though no date has yet been decided, the law could well be in place by this autumn, with many licensed premises needing to act swiftly in advance, advises Melissa Haskell, licensing expert at Knights, the UK’s largest regional legal services business.
“There is currently no legislation that requires these premises to enhance protection for businesses and customers from terrorist attacks,” said Melissa. “These new requirements will affect a range of businesses in the food and drink, entertainment, retail and sporting industries and beyond.
“They must have a counter‑terrorism plan up and running for when the legislation comes in. Now it has been in the King’s Speech, that could come into effect this autumn. The process can often be really swift and we know that many businesses are worrying about getting the right plan in place in time.
“It could affect the number of staff venues have on the ground, the training they need to put in place, the risk assessments involved and whether they need to change the layout of their businesses to keep people safe in the event of an attack.”
Based on their capacity, venues will need to meet different requirements. Premises with a capacity of between 100 and 799 will be classed as a 'standard tier' and need to increase their preparedness for, and protection from, a terrorist act through effective steps such as training and information sharing.
Those with a higher capacity of 800 and more will be in an 'enhanced tier' which requires them to take ‘reasonably practicable’ measures to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack occurring or physical harm being caused. In developing the legislation, the previous government said it was conscious of balancing the requirements with other pressures on those running premises and events.
“As well as licensed premises, the 100‑plus capacity could include charities, health and education organisations, sporting grounds and visitor attractions through to hospitals and even supermarkets,” said Melissa. “But the tiered approach can help to narrow down what actions a business needs to take and the support they need to enact those defence mechanisms.
“We have been discussing with clients the need to prepare security plans and develop best practice. They can consider terrorism risk management guides that are already in circulation, identify a responsible person to oversee the implementation of the requirements, and potentially understand the different levels of UK terrorism threats.
“They need to introduce sufficient training for their staff so that they can respond to not only an attack but the threat of one - and the likely methods they would need to escalate their response, such as an evacuation. Larger venues might need to run realistic scenarios of what a threat looks like.”
However, she asked: “Would they always have to be on site during operating hours or be contactable? Hospitality can also have a high turnover of staff, especially seasonally - do they have to train everyone?
“There’s obviously a cost element, especially to our big arena and shopping mall clients who have the larger capacity. And there is a big responsibility on a designated person or team, although having some kind of qualification or certificate could be beneficial for them and prove attractive to employers.”
Melissa added: “Risk assessments will be very important and it is also crucial for businesses to understand the liability that they will be accepting - and to ensure they are properly insured against the risk.
“All businesses will face some level of change. We are urging people to have everything in place as soon as possible and to have their finances prepared as it will be implemented very soon, once the relevant authority has been appointed to execute it.
“It would also be good practice for premises that fall outside the scope of the legislation - with a capacity under 100 - to take voluntary steps in training their staff.”
While it is not yet clear what will be the regulatory body overseeing the law, Melissa firmly believes it should be local licensing authorities.
“They already work with all the other responsible authorities, such as police, fire service, trading standards and the Health and Safety Executive,” she said. “They would understand the steps needed to be taken by a good responsible licence holder and already have training and understanding of the responsibilities needed.
“The licensing authority can currently sanction venues over breaching their licence regulations - that would make far more sense on the public purse if they continued that role under the new legislation.”
