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What Does the UK Terrorism Act Mean for You?
Published:
April 2025
Here is what to consider for the UK Terrorism Act and the surveillance tools that can help.
On 3 April 2025, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill – also known as ‘The Protect Duty’ or ‘Martyn’s Law’ – gained Royal Assent. The legislation aims to make the public safer by ensuring those responsible for specific premises and events have considered the risk of terrorist attack and have implemented safety and security measures proportionate to their operations.
A 24-month implementation period is anticipated, with more detailed guidance to be issued in the intervening period. This will primarily come from the Security Industry Authority (SIA), which has been granted regulatory capabilities concerning this Act to support enforcement.
But for now, here are some key facts so you can start making organisational preparations.
1. Who does the legislation apply to?
It will apply to organisations operating premises or events where members of the public are expected “at least occasionally” to gather in large numbers (over 200) at once.
As anticipated, a tiered approach has been adopted. Smaller operations (200-799 people) will be classed as ‘standard duty’ premises and be required to adopt public protection procedures in keeping with their size.
Larger operations (over 800 people) will be classed as ‘enhanced duty premises and qualifying events’. As the name suggests, those classified in this tier must meet the same public protection measures as standard duty premises. However, they will also need to adopt more stringent measures in ‘recognition of the potentially more impactful consequence of a successful attack’.
More on qualifying premises (buildings and events) can be found here.
The qualifying criteria for size are based on a reasonable expectation of attendance. This could be assessed by looking at fixed capacity, historical data (e.g., previous event attendance), or existing safe occupancy figures used for Health and Safety measures.
2. What must I do if I’m in the standard tier?
The main requirement in this tier is to ensure appropriate public protection measures are in place. Measures like these:
Measure |
Tools That Can Help |
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Safely evacuate or invacuate people. |
Evacuation and invacuation workflows can automate emergency guidance lighting, exit and entrance control, door opening/closing, and on-screen guidance for your team. |
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Lockdown premises to limit the movement of would-be attackers. |
By integrating mapping and access control with your surveillance solution, you can pinpoint the location of any threat and lock down individual doors and zones in response. |
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Communicate with staff and the public about any danger present, what to do and where to go. |
Visual and audio alarms, digital signage, and public address systems can all be integrated into your surveillance solution for rapid public-facing communication. Integrating staff radios or using remote and mobile applications will help you keep your staff informed and on task. |
3. What must I do if I’m in the enhanced tier?
Premises/events in this tier must also demonstrate that more robust public protection measures are in place to mitigate the risk of attack and its potential impact. Measures like these:
Measure |
Tools That Can Help |
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Monitor for suspicious activity (on-site and in the immediate vicinity). |
Consider using AI to proactively (and automatically) search for things like loitering, tailgating, suspicious bags, etc. |
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Control the movement of people. |
In addition to integrating access control, newer solutions like entrance scanners (increasingly used for event control) can also be integrated into your surveillance system. AI can also be used to monitor unusual crowd behaviour and movement. |
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Physically protect premises e.g. by implementing clear zones or vehicle access prevention areas. |
Physical signage and bollards can be used to create clear zones. You can also replicate these virtually so your surveillance solution triggers an alert if a person or vehicle is too close or crosses a threshold. |
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Ensure security data (e.g. plans, rotas and SOPs) doesn’t get into the wrong hands. |
Use permission-based surveillance and security solutions with full audit trail capabilities to control and monitor who does what. Technologies used should meet the latest cyber security and encryption standards. |
4. Who will this involve at my organisation?
While specific individuals will have reporting responsibilities, the answer to this is everyone.
The Act strongly emphasises the need for communication and coordination.
For example, guidance already issued conveys that, for both tiers, procedures will need to be effectively communicated to all those needed to deliver an effective response to a suspected incident. This may include employees, volunteers, contractors, and those hiring premises.
Mobile devices and remote access solutions that allow security and safety tasks to be assigned to staff (including temporarily, e.g., for event volunteers) and for two-way communication on incident status can also be helpful here.
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