Structured, proportionate support to help organisations determine whether premises or events fall within scope, understand the duties that may apply and put practical public-protection arrangements in place ahead of commencement.
Martyn’s Law is the commonly used name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. The legislation introduces duties for qualifying premises and qualifying events to improve preparedness for terrorist attacks and reduce the risk of physical harm.
Vulcan’s service is a site-specific readiness and compliance assessment. It reviews the premises or event against the statutory framework, records the basis for the conclusions reached and produces a practical action plan for the responsible person.
The assessment is intended to help an organisation understand what applies, what is already adequate, what evidence is missing and what should be improved. It is not a generic checklist and it is not presented as statutory certification.
The Act received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. Statutory guidance has been published. The Security Industry Authority states that the substantive requirements are expected to come into force in spring 2027, with the exact commencement date to be confirmed.
Page position checked: 25 September 2026.
The starting point is not simply the building’s maximum capacity. The statutory tests consider the nature and use of the premises or event, public access, responsibility and the number of individuals reasonably expected to be present at the same time.
Qualifying premises will generally fall within the standard tier where it is reasonable to expect 200 to 799 individuals, including staff, to be present at the same time from time to time, provided the other statutory scope criteria are met.
Qualifying premises will generally fall within the enhanced tier where it is reasonable to expect 800 or more individuals to be present at the same time from time to time. Enhanced-tier premises have additional duties.
Events can be subject to enhanced-duty requirements where the statutory event criteria are met, including the attendance threshold and entry-control requirements. The assessment records the basis used to determine whether the event is in scope.
Special provisions apply to certain premises, including places of worship and specified childcare and education premises. The assessment uses the current statutory guidance rather than relying on headline thresholds alone.
The review is tailored to the premises or event. The following areas can be included within the agreed scope.
Principal use, public accessibility, attendance evidence, shared or nested premises, event arrangements, control of the premises and identification of the responsible person or persons.
Current emergency plans, security procedures, staff roles, communications, access arrangements, incident-response information and existing training or briefing arrangements.
Review of appropriate procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication, including how those procedures interact with existing fire and emergency arrangements.
Who needs to understand or carry out procedures, how instructions are communicated, training or briefing needs, supervision, exercises and practical implementation.
Interfaces with landlords, tenants, event organisers, neighbouring or host premises, shared escape routes, common areas and other responsible persons where coordinated action is required.
Clear record of findings, gaps, assumptions and priorities, with actions allocated so the responsible person can build a defensible compliance file before commencement.
Where enhanced duties apply, the review goes beyond procedures and considers the additional public-protection measures and documentation required by the Act.
Existing arrangements for observing the premises, immediate vicinity, suspicious activity or items, reporting routes and situational awareness.
How people enter, leave and move within the premises or event, including access controls, queues, screening arrangements and how movement controls interact with emergency procedures.
Review of existing physical arrangements that may reduce vulnerability or physical harm. Where specialist protective-security design is required, the assessment identifies the requirement rather than misrepresenting general risk-assessment work as specialist engineering design.
How sensitive information about premises layout, operation, security systems, staffing or internal arrangements is controlled and protected from inappropriate disclosure.
Review of the information required to document procedures and measures, the rationale for what is reasonably practicable and how arrangements are expected to reduce vulnerability or physical harm.
Where the responsible person is an organisation, the assessment can identify the need for the required senior individual and establish a structured review process for measures and procedures.
Where an organisation already has emergency, business-continuity, fire or security documentation, the objective is to build on useful arrangements rather than create unnecessary duplicate paperwork.
The statutory framework is based on arrangements that are appropriate and reasonably practicable. Vulcan’s approach is therefore proportionate to the premises, event, staffing, layout, existing controls and resources.
Recommendations distinguish legal requirements from recommended good practice and optional improvements wherever that distinction is material.
Inclusion in a sector does not by itself mean the Act applies. Scope depends on the statutory criteria for the particular premises or event.
Vulcan’s assessment is aligned to the current Home Office statutory guidance and relevant regulator/ProtectUK material. Clients should rely on the latest official publications where legislation or guidance changes.
Core guidance on scope, responsible persons, standard and enhanced duties, procedures, measures and documentation.
View GOV.UK guidance →Information on the Security Industry Authority’s role as regulator and the implementation timetable.
View SIA guidance →Official protective-security resources and implementation material supporting organisations preparing for the Act.
View ProtectUK resources →The Act has been enacted and statutory guidance has been published, but the substantive requirements are not yet in force. The SIA currently states that commencement is expected in spring 2027, with the exact date to be confirmed.
No. The legislation uses the number of individuals who can reasonably be expected to be present at the same time, from time to time, alongside the other statutory scope criteria. Historic attendance, operational patterns and the principal use of the premises may all be relevant.
The Act identifies four public protection procedures: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. The arrangements must be appropriate to the particular premises or event and should be capable of being put into effect by the people who need to carry them out.
Enhanced-tier premises and qualifying events have additional requirements concerning public protection measures, documentation, review and senior accountability, in addition to the public protection procedures that apply under the standard duty.
No. The service produces an independent readiness and compliance assessment and action plan. The legal duties remain with the responsible person, and the assessment does not replace the regulator’s role or amount to statutory certification.
Send the premises or event type, location, approximate attendance, operating pattern and any existing emergency or security procedures. Vulcan will review the likely scope and confirm an appropriate assessment.
Service:
Readiness & Compliance Assessment
Coverage:
Pembrokeshire • Wales • UK-wide
Email:
vulcanriskmanagement@outlook.com
Telephone:
07961 452492