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Understanding Martyn’s Law is the first step. The next question is more practical:
How prepared is your organisation today?
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 introduces new requirements for certain publicly accessible premises and events across the UK. Although the substantive requirements are not yet in force, the Government has deliberately provided an implementation period so organisations have time to understand their responsibilities and prepare appropriately.
For businesses that may fall within scope, preparation does not necessarily mean introducing an entirely new security system. It begins with understanding your premises, reviewing what you already have in place and identifying where gaps may exist.
Why assess your organisation now?
It can be tempting to wait until Martyn’s Law comes into force before reviewing existing arrangements. However, the purpose of the implementation period is precisely to give organisations time to understand what the legislation means for them and consider how they will meet the relevant requirements. The Home Office states that organisations falling within scope may wish to begin considering the requirements before commencement. Starting earlier also allows businesses to approach preparedness in a measured way.
Instead of asking “What do we need to buy?”, a more useful starting point is:
What do we already have?
What works?
What is missing?
Do our people know what to do?
That is why an initial assessment can be so valuable.
Start by establishing whether you are in scope
The first stage is understanding whether Martyn’s Law is likely to apply to your organisation.
For premises to qualify, several conditions must be met. Among them, the premises must be used wholly or mainly for one or more uses specified in the legislation, and it must be reasonable to expect at least 200 people, including staff, to be present at the same time from time to time. Premises with an expected attendance of 800 or more generally fall within the enhanced tier unless otherwise provided by the Act.
Businesses should therefore understand not only the physical capacity of their premises, but how they are actually used.
The Home Office notes that existing information can help determine reasonable expected attendance, including fire-safety occupancy calculations and historic attendance data.
Look at what is already in place
For many organisations, preparing for Martyn’s Law will not mean starting from zero.You may already have fire procedures, emergency plans, access controls, CCTV, staff communication systems, security personnel or established incident-management processes.
The question is whether those existing arrangements are appropriate when considered specifically in the context of a terrorist incident.
For standard-tier premises, the legislation focuses on appropriate public protection procedures relating to evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, so far as reasonably practicable.
An assessment should therefore look beyond whether a written procedure simply exists.
Would staff know how to evacuate people?
Is there somewhere appropriate to invacuate people if leaving the building would create greater danger?
Could the premises be locked down where necessary?
How would staff communicate an immediate threat to colleagues, customers, visitors or contractors?
These are practical operational questions rather than paperwork exercises.
Your people are part of your preparedness
Security measures alone do not create preparedness.
A business may have CCTV, controlled access and detailed emergency procedures, but those measures are only part of the picture if the people responsible for implementing procedures do not understand them.
This is particularly important because standard-tier public protection procedures concern actions that people working at the premises should follow if an act of terrorism occurs at the premises or in its immediate vicinity. A useful assessment should therefore consider responsibilities as well as physical security.
Who makes decisions during an incident?
Who communicates with staff and members of the public?
Who can initiate a lockdown?
Who understands the evacuation and invacuation procedures?
Identifying uncertainty now provides an opportunity to address it before those procedures are ever needed.
Larger premises need to look further
For enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events, assessment becomes broader. In addition to public protection procedures, responsible persons will be required, so far as reasonably practicable, to have appropriate measures that could be expected to reduce both vulnerability to an act of terrorism and the risk of physical harm if an attack occurs at or near the premises or event.The legislation refers to areas including monitoring the premises and its immediate vicinity.
Enhanced-tier organisations will also need to document relevant procedures and measures and provide this documentation to the Security Industry Authority, including an assessment of how those arrangements reduce vulnerability and/or the risk of harm.
This makes understanding the current position particularly important.
Before an organisation can determine what needs to change, it needs a clear picture of what already exists.
An assessment is about finding gaps, not finding fault
The objective of a preparedness review should not be to produce a long list of failures. It should create a structured picture of the organisation today. Some arrangements may already be appropriate. Others may require relatively minor changes. Certain procedures may exist but need clearer ownership or communication. And there may be areas that have simply never previously been considered from a protective-security perspective. A good assessment helps separate those issues.
It can turn a broad question:
“Are we prepared?”
-into a series of specific, manageable questions.
Where can businesses find official guidance?
Businesses should begin with official Government information.
The Home Office Martyn’s Law Factsheet provides an accessible overview of scope, the standard and enhanced tiers, responsible persons, expected attendance and the requirements under the Act.
The Government has also published statutory guidance under section 27 of the Act. The guidance is intended to help those responsible for premises and events determine whether they are in scope, understand which requirements apply and consider how those requirements may be met in practice.
The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 and statutory guidance
Additional protective-security information is available through ProtectUK, which the Home Office also directs organisations to for further information.
These official resources should remain the primary reference point when determining an organisation's legal obligations.
Preparation should be proportionate
Preparing for Martyn’s Law should not automatically mean purchasing expensive new security equipment or commissioning major changes to a building.
For standard-tier premises in particular, the Government describes the requirements as being centred around simple, low-cost activities, with costs primarily relating to time spent.
The Home Office also makes clear that premises and events do not need to spend money on consultants to comply and that neither the Home Office nor the SIA endorses third-party products marketed in relation to compliance.
That reinforces the importance of assessment before action.
Understand the requirement.
Understand your current position.
Identify genuine gaps.
Then decide what action is appropriate and reasonably practicable.
Start with the right questions
At Synergy Prestige, we have already worked through the requirements and considered the practical questions organisations may need to ask when reviewing their existing arrangements.
To make that process easier, we have created our own Martyn’s Law Preparedness Audit -a practical document designed to help organisations review their current security arrangements, procedures and protective-security considerations, and identify areas that may require further attention.
The audit is intended as a preparedness tool rather than legal advice or confirmation of compliance with the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Organisations should always refer to the official Government guidance when determining their legal obligations.
The audit is available free of charge. To request your copy, simply contact Synergy Prestige directly and we will send the document to you.