Understanding Martyn’s Law — What It Means for Your Security Strategy

What Is Martyn’s Law?

On 3 April 2025, the UK Government approved new landmark anti-terrorism legislation called the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Commonly known as Martyn’s Law this new Act delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to protect the safety and security of people attending public premises and events.

Named in memory of Martyn Hett, one of the victims of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, this law aims to strengthen the security preparedness of publicly accessible premises.

The new law will not be enforced until at least 2027, which means organisations were given a two-year implementation window to prepare.

Why Was the Law Introduced?

Martyn’s Law was introduced to ensure that publicly accessible buildings are better protected against the evolving threat of terrorism.

The overall aims of Martyn’s Law are to:

• Improve preparedness: Premises must now plan for how to respond in the event of a terrorist incident, not just fire or other emergencies.
• Close security gaps: By mandating risk assessment, procedural planning, and (for some venues) physical security measures, the law standardises protection across different sites.
• Ensure regulation and enforcement: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been assigned as the regulator to oversee compliance, conduct inspections, and enforce duties.

How will Martyn’s Law be enforced? 

To support enforcement of the regime, a new regulatory function will be established within the Security Industry Authority (SIA). The SIA will seek to support, advise and guide those responsible for premises and events in meeting the requirements of this legislation. Where there are instances of serious or persistent non-compliance the SIA will be able to take enforcement action including compliance notices, monetary penalties and restriction notices. The legislation also includes some criminal offences. The SIA must prepare statutory guidance about how it will discharge its functions under the Act, which must be approved by the Home Secretary before it is published.

Who Is Affected? And How Does It Work?

Martyn’s Law applies to a wide range of premises, specifically those that are open to the public such as entertainment complexes, retail outlets, hospitality venues, and more. It also applies to schools and education facilities, but there are specialist considerations for this sector.

A tiered model based on the number of people reasonably expected to be on site has been used to determine the procedures that must be implemented:

• Standard Tier – For premises expecting 200–799 people. These sites must implement public protection procedures.
• Enhanced Tier – For premises expecting 800 or more people. These sites must also put in place physical protection measures (e.g., CCTV, bag searches) and submit documented plans.

Under both tiers, the “responsible person” for the premises must notify the security protection procedures to the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

Special Considerations for Schools & Education Facilities

As previously mentioned, Education settings (schools, colleges, universities and nurseries) are to receive special treatment under Martyn’s Law.

Here are the main differences related to education settings:

• Even if they host more than 800 people, they are classed in the Standard Tier.
• They will need documented procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and communication during a terrorist incident.
• They must appoint a responsible person (for many schools, this will be the governing body or proprietor).
• They will need to notify the SIA of their premises security protection procedures.

While physical security measures (like CCTV) are not mandatory in the standard tier for schools, the procedural requirements are non-negotiable.

Why This Matters for UK Businesses and Schools

Whilst implementing Martyn’s Law will initially present understandable financial and procedural challenges to ensure compliance, it also presents an opportunity for businesses and education facilities to review their current security strategy and ensure fire alarms, intruder detection, access control, and CCTV systems are fit for purpose.

There are four main areas to review and implement changes:

• Risk assessment alignment: Many organisations already carry out risk assessments for fire or health & safety. Martyn’s Law means considering terrorism-specific risks in these assessments.
• Procedural gap closure: Even if you have lockdown drills for intruder threat or fire, formalising and documenting procedures for invacuation, lockdown, and communication in a terror scenario may require more work.
• Physical measures: For venues in the enhanced tier, the law now makes CCTV, search policies, or access control upgrades part of compliance.
• Training & testing: Staff training on how to respond to a terror threat — not just a fire — becomes a legal requirement.

How Tecserv UK Can Help You Comply

At Tecserv UK, we are already supporting businesses, schools, colleges, and public venues to prepare for Martyn’s Law.

We can assist with:

• Security Systems Integration: We can integrate or upgrade CCTV, access control, and intruder detection systems to align with the protective measures likely to be required under Martyn’s Law.
• Lockdown Solutions: We are an appointed distributor and approved to install and maintain Kentec’s wireless lockdown system, which uses trusted K-Mesh technology and supports pre-recorded messages (lockdown, covert alert, all clear, evacuation).
• Procedural Planning & Testing: We can work with your team to design and document public protection procedures — including evacuation, invacuation, lockdown, and emergency communication.

In summary, Martyn’s Law is not just another compliance tick-box — it’s a legal and moral responsibility to better protect people in publicly accessible premises. For schools and education settings, it formalises important safety procedures (like lockdown), and for businesses, it raises the bar on how premises are secured.

Next steps

The next step is to review your current Security and Emergency Plans to identify whether you will meet the public protection procedures required by Martyn’s Law.

The sooner you start this process, the longer window you will give your organisation to ensure compliance. Next steps will be to carry out your risk assessment to determine your strategy and funding requirement. Starting early will also allow sufficient time to embed any new processes and ensure all staff are trained and understand their obligations under this new law.

Tecserv UK is well placed to help your organisation navigate this new legislation with expert advice, new systems, proven lockdown technology, and procedural support. Working together, we can ensure you meet the requirements well before enforcement begins.

We can help you carry out a security audit, assess your systems (CCTV, access control, lockdown) and help you design a roadmap to upgrade or integrate security measures.

If you would like to learn more about how Tecserv UK can help you protect your people, processes and property please get in touch.