Martyn's Law Webinar for Churches
A webinar will be held in February to help churches understand their responsibilities under new terrorism legislation.
In April 2025, the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, often referred to as Martyn’s Law, passed onto the books. Introduced following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, this new legislation establishes a requirement for places where the public gather - including places of worship - to be prepared and ready to keep people safe in the event of a terrorist attack.
The Act introduces tiered system based on the number of people expected, at least from time to time, to gather: ‘standard tier” premises with between 200-799 people and ‘enhanced tier’ with 800 or more.
Smaller premises will not have any specific duties, but standard tier and enhanced tier premises must comply with certain requirements. An exception in the legislation means places of worship that expect 800+ individuals from time to time will still fall under the Standard Tier.
An implementation period runs until April 2027, after which churches where 200 or more people gather will be required to:
- Register with the Security Industry Authority (SIA).
- “Have in place, so far as reasonably practicable, appropriate public protection procedures that could be reasonably expected to reduce the risk of physical harm being caused to individuals if an attack was to occur there or nearby”.
Churches which are smaller than this will not have any legal duties but may wish to consider whether there are any appropriate and proportionate actions to take.
Churches who hire space, for example in a school, will need to work with the owner to plan and implement appropriate measures.
To help churches understand their responsibilities under the new legislation, we are hosting a webinar to share information about what churches will need to do and give an opportunity to ask questions. The speaker at the webinar is from SAFE by CST, an organisation which provides information and training for faith groups on safety and security.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday 25 February at 12pm, is open to church leaders, trustees, and others with responsibility for church premises. You will need to sign up to attend via Zoom.
Please share this information with others who would find the webinar helpful and encourage them to come along.
Photo by Jodie Walton on Unsplash.
