What will Martyn’s Law mean for hospitality venues?

The Labour government has confirmed it will forge ahead with new legislation that will require bars, restaurants and hotels to implement security measures against terrorist attacks. db investigates what it means for the on-trade.

Figen Murray began campaigning for Martyn’s Law after her son Martyn Hett was killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack. In the wake of the tragedy she noticed a gap in legislation that meant the venue had been under no legal obligation to provide a security plan to protect guests in the case of a terror attack.

Subsequently, Figen vowed to campaign for change in her son’s name.

After meeting with Murray, former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak proposed a Draft Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. And in this week’s King’s Speech (given on Wednesday 17 July) new prime minister Keir Starmer confirmed his intention to move ahead with the bill, subject to consultation.

But what will the new legislation mean for on-trade venues? db asks Andy Grimsey, senior associate solicitor at Poppleston Allen, a solicitor firm specialising in the licensed sector.

Not law yet

Firstly, Grimsey stresses, it’s important to note that “Martyn’s Law is not law yet and no Bill has been laid before Parliament. The Bill itself is subject to a consultation, the results of which are not yet known.”

If it does go ahead, the bill ultimately means that public venues must cater for the threat of terrorism in their risk planning and reduce the risk of injury if such an attack occurs.

The bill currently outlines two tiers of hospitality venues – those with a public capacity of 100 to 799, known as the Standard Tier, and those with a capacity of 800+, known as the Enhanced Tier. There will be greater associated costs for Enhanced Tier premises.

There is some uncertainty over how the official capacity for a venue will be decided, though according to Grimsey “the Government may propose that the capacity identified by any fire risk assessment would suffice.”

Beer gardens

“What about beer gardens and enclosed patios?” asks Grimsey. “Whether these areas, which may not formally form part of the licensed premises but are nevertheless used in conjunction with the premises for licensable activities are to be included in terms of the calculation of capacity is unknown, although it looks likely that many will. This may bring smaller venues with larger outdoor areas within the scope of Martyn’s Law.”

He believes that Standard Tier premises are unlikely to be expected to undertake physical alterations or fork out for additional equipment. Rather, says Grimsey, they will probably be required to have in place “reasonably practicable procedural measures to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals at the premises in the event of an attack either occurring or being suspected as about to occur.”

Such measures are expected to include: Evacuation – how to get people out of the building; Invacuation – how to bring people into the premises to keep them safe or how to move them to safe parts of the building; Lockdown – how to secure the premises against attackers, e.g. locking doors, closing shutters and using barriers to prevent access; and Communication – how to alert staff and customers, and move people away from danger.

Staff training

“Additionally staff will need to understand these measures sufficiently to carry them out if needed,” Grimsey tells db, which suggests there will need to be an element of staff training for front-of-house employees of Standard Tier venues.

The former government, which first proposed the legislation, recommended hospitality businesses having “practice runs, so that they can be effectively implemented in the event of an attack.”

Grimsey adds that many venues will need “some external assistance to comply with these requirements.”

“The government and police already provide free materials, updates and training on security at www.protectuk.police.uk and of course there are external providers too.”

However, Grimsey cautions against being taken in by security firms making outlandish promises.

“Martyn’s Law is not law yet… so anyone telling you they can make you ‘Martyn’s Law-compliant’ now is talking nonsense,” he says.