Martyn’s Law to become national legislation
On Tuesday 7 November 2023, the King’s Speech set out that the Government intends to introduce The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill, which will bring ‘Martyn’s Law’ into legislation. Further details on the proposed legislation are available online:
Read the Home Office factsheet.
A draft Bill has also been published, which includes supporting documents, explanatory notes and other guidance.
Background
In 2020, Manchester City Council pledged to support the Martyn's Law Campaign to introduce requirements that:
- spaces and places to which the public have access engage with freely available counter-terrorism advice and training
- those places conduct vulnerability assessments of their operating places and spaces
- those places mitigate the risks created by the vulnerabilities
- those places have a counter-terrorism plan
- and that local authorities plan for the threat of terrorism.
The ‘Martyn’s Law’ campaign was launched by Figen Murray in tribute to her son, Martyn Hett, who was tragically killed alongside 21 others in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.
Through licensing, we have introduced model licence conditions for our pubs, bars, restaurants and other venues, we well as conditions on our outdoor seating (pavement) licences. All licensed businesses are encouraged to voluntarily adopt these measures ahead of them becoming national legislation.
Free training for Manchester licensed businesses
To support the implementation of Martyn’s Law by licensed premises, and prepare businesses with the relevant skills and knowledge, we are holding regular Action Counters Terrorism (ACT) training courses at venues across the city, in partnership with North West Counter Terrorism Policing and Cityco. The training is delivered by specialist Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSA’s) and attendees that complete the two and a half hour course receive a certificate of attendance.
For details on upcoming in-person courses, aimed at managers and supervisory staff, visit the Cityco website. Alternatively, free ACT e-learning courses are available online.
If your venue is interested in hosting a session, please email the Premises Licensing Team.
Further protective security guidance can be found at the ProtectUK website.