Resilience First urges businesses to guard against Martyn’s Law scammers

During a recent webinar delivered in tandem by Resilience First and Pool Re, expert speakers discussed how businesses can prepare themselves for the legislation. Importantly, they also warned of pitfalls to avoid, such as scammers offering compliance consultation services that promise compliance before the law is even passed.

Robin Hibbert, director of company operations for the Heart of London Business Alliance, commented: “The introduction of Martyn’s Law is likely to lead to an increased demand on security and facility and venue management services. As organisations seek to ensure compliance with the promised Act of Parliament, security companies themselves will need to comply with the new regulations and guidelines. This will certainly entail changes to training and operational procedures as well as increased scrutiny from the regulatory authorities.”

One of the key recommendations that emerged in the wake of the Manchester Arena terrorist bombing in 2017 was the introduction of a ‘Protect Duty’ to be placed on those responsible for publicly accessible venues and events such that they take steps to reduce the risk posed to members of the public from terrorist attacks.

Premises with a capacity of 100 to 799 would be subject to a standard duty, which is intended to be relatively light touch and low cost to implement. Venues with capacities of 800 or more, and qualifying public events, would be subject to an enhanced duty, potentially entailing more onerous and costly requirements.

Clare Rogers, senior operations manager (services) at the National Security Inspectorate, observed: “While the private sector has generally been willing to accept advice, difficulties have arisen when it’s unclear where responsibility lies or where mitigation requires significant expenditure to address the issue. The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill creates a scheme under which publicly accessible venues and events would be required to take certain steps to reduce risk. Those steps include terrorism protection, training, risk assessment and mitigation and maintaining security plans.”

Impact on insurance

The Home Office estimates that there are upwards of 270,000 locations encompassed by the standard tier and over 24,000 locations within the enhanced tier. This could have a significant impact on insurance.

Chris Medhurst-Cocksworth, head of Pool Re Solutions, commented: “The general level of understanding of terrorism is perhaps not as good as it could be. Companies who provide security and security guarding capabilities are saying they are having to considerably increase their liability insurance. That’s probably just from a lack of understanding of the threats posed. We need to make sure that everyone who’s involved has a better understanding of what terrorism in the UK is and how to mitigate it.”

The proposed legislation has not yet made its full passage through the Houses of Parliament. However, businesses should begin thinking about their provisions and capabilities for training as well as revisions to their security plans.

What’s more, businesses should also turn to trusted official bodies for support and expert advice or to seek latest updates. One such body is ProtectUK, the platform run in partnership by the Home Office, Counter Terrorism Policing, the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office and Pool Re (itself the Government’s arm’s length re-insurance capability for terrorism insurance).