Martyn's Law

About the bill

The Terrorism Protection of Premises Bill, also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ is expected to become law in 2024.

The bill is the legislative response to the findings of the Manchester Arena Inquiry.

It is designed to reduce the risk to the public from terrorism by the protection of public venues – increasing national security and personal safety.

What it means for organisations

The bill will place a requirement on those responsible for certain locations to consider the threat from terrorism.

It will also require them to put measures in place to mitigate the threat, including implementing security systems, staff training, and clearer processes.

There will be different requirements depending on capacity;

Locations which can host between 100 to 799 people will need to follow ‘Standard Tier’ regulations. They will need to complete a templated Emergency Action Plan provided by the Home Office and put appropriate and proportional measures in place based on this assessment.

For locations with a capacity above 800, ‘Enhanced Tier’ rules will apply. This will require more detailed risk assessments, security planning and staff training - and a proportional response which will be articulated in the legislation.

The new rules will not apply to venues with a capacity of fewer than 100 people.

An inspection regime will be put in place by the UK Government, and the regulator will have full powers of entry into any qualifying location.

Sanctions will range from a fine or permanent closure of the location to prosecution. Non-compliance is also likely to bring reputational risks.

Implications for the University and Colleges

The scope of the bill includes premises used for entertainment and leisure, retail, food and drink, museums and galleries, sports grounds, visitor attractions, temporary events, places of worship, health, and education.

It will apply to eligible premises which are either:

a building or collection of buildings used for the same purposes, e.g. a campus;

or a location/event (including a temporary event) that has a defined boundary

As such, all parts of the University and colleges are expected to fall under the qualifying criteria.

University and college response

A ‘task and finish’ working group has been formed with representation from across the University and colleges to:

gain a better understanding of the implications of the bill for the University
develop consistent approaches to support Oxford’s response
leverage economies of scale where possible during the implementation of response measures

The group includes representatives from the central University, academic divisions and colleges. A list of group members can be found below.

Progress to date includes:

Emergency action plans: templates have been shared with relevant colleagues, for both standard and enhanced tier venues – in line with Home Office guidelines. Substantial progress has been made by Estates Services for FM-Managed buildings, including Enhanced Tier venues such as the Examination Schools and Sheldonian Theatre; as well as by individual Colleges.
Procurement of trauma kits: The University has put in place a preferred supplier agreement for Home Office approved ‘trauma kits’, used to treat life-threatening injuries. An initial batch has been delivered for distribution around the University. Colleges are also purchasing the same kits as part of the project. Additional kits can be purchased by Divisions or Departments as required at the negotiated Univeristy price.
Counter-terrorism training: a new training module is now available on CoSy, providing advice and support for all colleagues about increasing their security awareness. This will meet the majority of the annual training requirements – the remainder being awareness of location-specific actions.
Mass alert system: the University has started a procurement exercise for an IT/telecommunications system that can share notifications with staff, students and members of the public in the event of a critical security issue or other major incident.

Colleagues in divisions, departments and colleges are encouraged to engage with the working group via their representatives in relation to the activities above, rather than developing their own approaches or seeking their own solutions (e.g. Mass Alert systems, consultancy, training solutions).

More information

If you have any questions at this stage, please contact the relevant member of the Working Group.

Working Group members

Chair: Neil Unsworth, Head of Risk and Resilience, Assurance Directorate

Academic Divisions

Humanities:

Gail Miller, Divisional Safety Officer, Humanities

MPLS:

Keri Dexter, Head of Strategic Planning and Projects, MPLS Division
Philip Paling, Departmental Safety Officer, Department of Engineering Science, Area Safety Officer MPLS

Medical Sciences:

Carolyn McKee, Deputy Divisional Registrar, MSD
Goher Ayman, Governance Manager, MSD Divisional Office
Graham Ross, Senior Divisional Safety Officee, MSD

Social Sciences:

Neil Carveth, Divisional Safety Officer, Social Sciences Division
Karen Mead, Facilities and HR Officer, Oxford Internet Institute

Colleges

Angela Unsworth, Domestic Bursar, University College
Harmohinder Bahl, Domestic Bursar, Worcester College (Colleges Mass Alert lead)
Gez Wells, Home Bursar, New College

Communications

Dan Selinger, Head of Communications and Engagement, Professional Services
Stephen Rouse, Head of University Communications

Estates Services

Michael Weymouth, Head of Strategic Facilities Management
Tom Mitchell, Senior Facilities Manager
Ellen Brady, Head of Oxford University Event Venues

Events

Lisa Seddon and Susannah Sheffield, Joint Heads of the Events Office, Public Affairs Directorate

Legal Services

Gemma Jacobs, Office Manager, Legal Services Officer

Security Services

Darrell Moss, University Marshal

Gardens, Libraries and Museums

Michael Finneran, Head of Safety and Security, Ashmolean Museum