What Firms Should Be Doing Now to Prepare for Martyn’s Law.

The truth is this: waiting for the Bill to pass is the single biggest mistake organisations can make. The direction of travel is set, the expectations are known, and regulators will expect firms to demonstrate early, proactive preparation.

This document outlines the essential steps every organisation should be taking today.

  1. Understand Your Likely Tier: Standard or Enhanced

Martyn’s Law introduces a tiered system:

Standard Duty (100–799 capacity)

  • Terrorism awareness training
  • Basic security planning
  • Incident response

Enhanced Duty (800+ capacity)

  • Comprehensive risk assessments
  • Security plans
  • Physical security measures
  • Exercises and assurance

Actions to take now:

  • Map all sites and events against likely capacity
  • Identify the probable tier for each
  • Assign internal owners for compliance
  1. Conduct a Proportionate Terrorism Risk Assessment

A terrorism risk assessment should be:

  • Specific to your site
  • Evidence‑based
  • Actionable

It should consider:

  • Attractive targets (crowds, queues, symbolic value)
  • Vulnerabilities (access points, blind spots, predictable patterns)
  • Plausible attack methods (vehicle attacks, bladed weapons, IEDs, insider threats)
  • Existing controls and their effectiveness
  • Gaps requiring proportionate mitigation
  1. Train Your Staff

Training is a core requirement across all tiers. Staff should understand:

  • How to spot suspicious behaviour
  • How to respond to a fast‑moving incident
  • How to raise concerns
  • Their role in evacuation or invacuation

Embedding awareness early builds confidence and demonstrates due diligence.

  1. Strengthen Your Incident Response Plan

A terrorism‑specific plan should include:

  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Evacuation, invacuation, and lockdown procedures
  • Communication protocols
  • Support for vulnerable individuals
  • Coordination with emergency services
  • Recovery and aftermath management

Plans must be practical and understood by staff — not just senior leaders.

  1. Review Physical and Procedural Security Measures

Martyn’s Law is proportionate, but it does require reasonable, risk‑based measures such as:

  • Improved access control
  • Queue management
  • Bag checks (where appropriate)
  • CCTV coverage and monitoring
  • Vehicle mitigation
  • Staff positioning and visibility
  • Clear signage and public information

Enhanced Duty premises may require more robust measures and regular exercising.

  1. Establish Governance and Accountability

Compliance must sit with named individuals, not “everyone”.

Recommended actions:

  • Assign a senior responsible owner
  • Create a compliance roadmap
  • Document decisions and rationale
  • Build Martyn’s Law into board reporting
  • Ensure contractors and partners understand their responsibilities
  1. Prepare for Assurance and Record‑Keeping

Enhanced Duty premises will need to maintain:

  • Documented risk assessments
  • Security plans
  • Training records
  • Exercise logs
  • Evidence of continuous improvement

Even Standard Duty premises should begin building a simple evidence trail now.

  1. Don’t Wait for the Final Legislation

The core principles of Martyn’s Law have been stable for years. Delaying preparation risks:

  • Compressed timelines
  • Increased costs
  • Limited availability of training and consultancy
  • Reputational damage
  • Potential enforcement action

Early preparation is safer, cheaper, and more responsible.

How Murfin Consulting Can Help

Murfin Consulting provides:

  • Proportionate terrorism risk assessments
  • Standard and Enhanced Duty compliance support
  • Staff training and awareness sessions
  • Incident response planning and exercising
  • Security audits and gap analysis
  • Board‑level briefings and governance frameworks

Our approach is practical, evidence‑based, and tailored to your organisation — ensuring compliance without unnecessary cost or complexity.