Home / Everything you need to know about the Terrorism Bill 2024
18th October 2024
Eleanor Jordan, Solicitor
Since 2017, agencies and law enforcement have disrupted 39 late-stage terror plots and there have been 15 domestic terror attacks, demonstrating that the threat level from terrorism in the UK is substantial.
In a bid to protect the public being targeted by terror attacks at public venues and spaces, the Government introduced the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill in the House of Commons on 12 September 2024.
This Bill, also referred to as ‘Martyn’s Law’, pays tribute to the 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, including Martyn Hett whose mother has been crucial in driving this Bill forward.
For the first time, this Bill will require those responsible for ‘qualifying public premises’ and ‘qualifying events’ to implement public protection measures to ensure that they are better prepared, protected and ready to respond in the event of a terrorist attack.
In this article, we will define the key terms and provisions set out in the Bill to help you determine if your premises or events will fall within its scope.
A ‘qualifying public premises’ is one that is wholly or mainly used, for example, as a shop, restaurant, nightclub, sports ground, library, museum, or for entertainment activities, and it must be reasonable to expect from time to time that there may be 200 or more individuals present at the premises at the same time.
The Bill also recognises two tiers of premises, including the ‘standard tier’ which are premises that may host 200 to 799 individuals at the same time, and the ‘enhanced tier’ which are premises that may host 800 or more individuals at the same time. Standard tier duties may be described as ‘responsive’ in nature. Premises which fall within the enhanced tier will be expected to meet additional ‘preventative’ requirements to those in the standard tier.
‘Qualifying public events’ are events that are not held at qualifying premises and will have a capacity of 800 or more people. Qualifying public events will also only be attended by members of public that have express permission, for example through receiving an invitation or purchasing a ticket, and such permissions are checked by staff or other persons engaged to do so.
Yes, premises occupied for the purposes of the House of Parliament and transport premises that are already subject to existing legislative requirements will be excluded from the requirements of the Bill. Also, parks, gardens, recreation grounds, sports grounds and other open-air premises used for recreation, exercise or leisure are excluded, unless individuals are employed to secure or check that members of the public who wish to access the premises have paid or have passes to allow them access.
Events that occur at places of worship or premises used for childcare or primary, secondary or further education that can be expected to host 200 or more individuals at the same time will time will also not constitute as a qualifying event and will therefore not need to meet the requirements on the Bill. Such premises (and events therein) will be classed as a standard tier premises regardless of capacity and subject to those requirements.
The person responsible for qualifying public premises and events is essentially the person who has control of the premises, for example the premises operator.
They will firstly be expected to notify the Security Industry Authority (SIA) when they become responsible for the premises.
A responsible person must also ensure that appropriate public protection procedures are in place at the premises. The Bill recognises four types of public protection procedures which may be appropriate depending on the premises, including procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication.
The SIA will be the regulator. They will advise on complying with its requirements and will also have powers to access premises and events to conduct inspections and to gather information for the purpose of assessing compliance.
Where there are instances of non-compliance, the SIA will be able to issue a range of civil sanctions including compliance notices, restriction notices, and penalty notices, and in certain instances, non-compliance will be deemed a criminal offence.
The Bill is currently undergoing parliamentary scrutiny and there is still some way until the Bill will be enforced. If the Bill does receive royal assent, it is expected that responsible persons will have up to 18 to 24 months to prepare to comply with their duties.
We await to hear further updates on the Bill and will keep you updated as and when they are announced. If you are responsible for qualifying premises or events and have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact our Licensing Team on 0161 832 3434.