Further public consultation planned for Martyn’s Law

A draft bill designed to protect premises from the threat of terrorism is on track to become law. The government’s Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill was one of 21 Bills mentioned in the King’s Speech on 7 November, signalling the Government’s intention to pass it into law in the coming year. The Bill places a statutory duty on qualifying premises and events to take proportionate and reasonable measures to improve public safety and protect against the threat of terrorism. The legislation could affect as many as 650,000 businesses in the UK, although the scope will look different dependent on the size of your business or event.

The draft bill follows recommendations made as part of the inquiry into the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 which killed 22 people. Also known as Martyn’s Law following a campaign by the mother of 29-year-old victim Martyn Hett, one of the people killed in the bombing, the bill introduces a ‘Protect Duty’ on those responsible for publicly accessible venues and events to help reduce the threat to the public from terrorist attacks.

Given its significant potential impact, the bill has already undergone a lot of scrutiny and there is more to come. Back in July last year the Home Affairs Select Committee conducted pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft bill and made a number of recommendations. One of their main concerns is that the bill, as drafted, sets different standards based on venue capacity, would be hard to apply consistently, and would place a significant burden on small businesses. In response, following the King’s Speech, the Home Office has confirmed that in advance of the Bill’s introduction the Government will launch a further public consultation. In a statement on 10 November, they said: “This will give the public, as well as our stakeholders ample opportunity to express their views and will ensure we strike the right balance between enhancing public safety and not overburdening organisations. Once the consultation has concluded we will introduce the Bill as soon as parliamentary time allows.”

So, let’s take a closer look at the bill and how employers might be affected by it. Earlier, I was joined by health and safety specialists Hannah Burton to discuss the proposed new law. I asked Hannah to outline the scope of new duty: 

Hannah Burton: “So within the draft bill, and you might hear it called the Protect Duty, you might hear it called Martin's Law, you might hear the actual name the Terrorism Bill, we're talking about the same thing here and, within that, the bill provides for a requirement that, depending on the capacity of your venue - so whether you fall under the standard duty or the enhanced duty - there's this element of risk assessing. What that looks like is still to be determined but it will certainly include some form of a risk assessment, the enhanced duty being a more in-depth risk assessment because the capacity is 800 or more, so it's deemed to be a higher risk, but what that actually will include is still slightly to be determined but we know there will be some duties on individuals. So, there will be a responsible person under the enhanced duty, so that person will need training and will need to understand what this is all about. Also, there are other training requirements that are likely to fall with the HR team. Where that training is going to come from we still don't really know, and we don't really understand, still, who is going to be providing that training, that’s still to be determined, but these are things that need to be flagged at this stage, that this is coming down the line, and these additional burdens need to be communicated within the business, essentially part of your horizon scanning, or whatever you do within your business, where you're looking down the line to see what's coming. There are going to be requirements if the premises or the event falls within this Protect Duty that will need to be considered.”

Joe Glavina: “It’s clear from the Committee’s report that last year that the MPs have a lot of reservations about the bill – a long list of issues they have with it. What do you make of that?” 

Hannah Burton: “That is the job of these scrutiny select committees, that's their job to go through it and have a look at it. I think some of the points are quite valid. The distinction between enhanced and standard duty and whether it should be phased in and whether those larger venues, the likes of the MEN arena where this all stems from, should they be piloted first. There is some constructive criticism, I'd like to call it, but I think there has to be something, this was such a devastating event that I think something will come for sure. Whether it comes in this exact format is unlikely - I don't think draft bills ever come through the process untouched. So, I think there's likely to be some changes and that's always propped up with guidance so there will be significant guidance coming down the line from the government as to how to implement whatever final version of this is determined to be appropriate. So, I think for sure something will be coming which is why it needs to be on the radar now.”

Joe Glavina: “So, will HR have a role in helping the business get ready for these changes, Hannah?”

Hannah Burton: “Yes, absolutely, and I think, as with a lot of draft bills, we're still uncertain in legal terms what is actually coming. We've got an idea now of what the government is thinking, but certainly something is coming and that communication piece from HR, and briefing the staff that this is going to affect, should be done at the earliest possible opportunity, I would say, so it’s on everyone's radar so it doesn't come as a surprise when you start saying to employees, okay, you've now got this additional set of training to do, the health and safety team, you've now got an additional risk assessment to do. I would say that being as prepared as possible is the whole purpose of this draft bill anyway, being prepared for terrorism, so be prepared within your business for when it comes to fruition.”

Joe Glavina: “What’s your final message to HR professionals watching this?”

Hannah Burton: “I think my final message or take away just would be preparation. There's no harm in preparing for something. Although it isn't legislation, yet it certainly is going to be something that is going to affect them and their business and their team and collaboratively they can raise awareness of it already. Whether that's with the health and safety team or the employees that they think it's going to affect. So yes, I think that would be my final message really, we are in the early stages, but certainly having it on your radar is preferable.”

The government has indicated that there will be a further public consultation before the draft bill is introduced into parliament where, of course, detailed further scrutiny will take place. We will be tracking that closely for you so do watch this space.