Martyn’s Law Forum – Newsletter

Welcome from Figen Murray

I know you will all join me in sending condolences and thinking about the victims, families, friends and the community after yesterday’s terror attack, at the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Crumpsall, Manchester, which took place on Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

I know firsthand the devastating consequences terrorism has and yesterday’s terror attack brought back vivid memories of what my family went through in 2017 and what we continue to endure, after my son Martyn was brutally murdered alongside 21 innocent victims, with thousands more impacted through injury or mental trauma.

If you’ve already subscribed and are reading this newsletter then you will know my determination over the last six and a half years to improve security at public venues to better protect the public in the event of a terror attack.

Yesterday’s attack highlights that the threat of terrorism in the UK remains high – the UK threat level is set at ‘substantial’ meaning an attack is likely. We must all be vigilant and we must ensure that our emergency services, security professionals and the public are prepared to respond. A point to note came from Greater Manchester Police who highlighted the bravery of security staff at the Synagogue and the police who responded rapidly, reducing any further casualties.

With this in mind, I want to welcome you to this inaugural Martyn’s Law Forum newsletter which marks the six month point of Martyn’s Law receiving Royal Assent on 3 April 2025.

Since Royal Assent we’ve continued discussions around the legislation with venue owners, businesses, local authorities and wider partners, and this led us to the conclusion that there is a need to create a space that encourages and facilitates collaboration.  

We created the Martyn’s Law Forum to continue the ethos of the campaign and encourage a platform where the security sector, academics and experts can be brought together with the Home Office and the Security Industry Authority. We feel this is particularly important during the implementation period, and beyond implementation in the spring months of 2027.

This week I met with the Prime Minister in Liverpool and the Security Minister at the International Security Expo to discuss my concerns about any potential delays to the implementation of Martyn’s Law, beyond April 2027. They stated their commitment to stick to the timeline and reassured me about the broader work the Government is doing to improve security and safety across the UK.

I continue to meet with the Home Office and SIA, who know that I will continue campaigning until Martyn’s Law is delivered, and who have reassured me how hard their teams are working to get the guidance finished and published.  

Martyn’s Law is needed now more than ever, when considering the geo-political situation the world currently finds itself in. Thank you to all of you therefore for the work you do to keep the general public safe. Martyn’s Law will hopefully help set an example to the rest of the world of what can be achieved with great security.

Figen Murray OBE

Welcome from Nathan Emmerich

The awful terror attack in Manchester is a stark reminder of the threat facing our communities and my thoughts are with the Jewish community, their families and friends in Manchester and beyond, and anyone else who was affected by yesterday’s attack.

Since we launched the Martyn’s Law Forum on LinkedIn in August, nearly 1,000 professionals from different sectors have signed up, and that number will continue to grow.

There’s a lot of commentary around Martyn’s Law and our intention is to use the Forum as a useful resource that does not add to the spam already in your inbox. The idea is to ensure each newsletter is engaging and helpful to any business, local authority or venue that is subject to Martyn’s Law requirements. Meanwhile, the LinkedIn group provides a Forum to ask questions or share insights whenever necessary.  

We want to hear from you about your experiences, and following the publication of the guidelines, to share examples of good practice, as well as highlighting any hurdles or challenges you may have faced. We’re also keen to hear any ideas you may have for the Forum, such as webinars or events.

Thank you for your support and please share the link to subscribe to our newsletter with your colleagues and anyone else you think might be interested.

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Update from Michelle Russell, CEO, SIA

On behalf of the SIA, I want to share my condolences with the families and friends of the victims of the horrific terror attack in Manchester yesterday. Our thoughts are also with those who witnessed and were affected by the attack. Thank you to all those who responded so quickly and bravely.

The SIA was confirmed in April in the legislation as the new regulator for Martyn’s Law. The role of the regulator will be to provide guidance on and ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements of the legislation, supporting those responsible for qualifying premises and events to meet their obligations and determine what reasonably practicable procedures and measures should be put in place.

The Home Office has confirmed there will be an implementation period of at least 24 months to both allow for the set-up of the regulator and give sufficient time for those responsible for premises and events in scope to understand their new obligations before they come into force and plan and prepare accordingly. More information and government advice is available on gov.uk / Home Office factsheets about Martyn’s Law / ProtectUK / and National Protective Security Authority (NPSA)

The SIA’s new Martyn’s Law responsibilities and functions will sit alongside the SIA’s existing private security regulation work. The SIA will have two separate, but complementary, responsibilities that will ensure that collectively regulating and improving standards in private security and also through Martyn’s Law, premises and events, will strengthen and improve protective security and security standards across the UK.

Our role as the Martyn’s Law regulator will be advisory, in most cases, to give venues and events in scope – predicted to be around 155,000 standard tier premises and 25,000 enhanced tier premises – the opportunity to get it right first, if we find non-compliance issues. You can expect us to be robust but fair and proportionate in our approach to enforcement where we need to take further steps to ensure compliance.

Since the Act received Royal Assent, we have been putting in place the first foundations for the new role the SIA will be carrying out. We have been agreeing new, separate grant funding to be provided by the Home Office to us to fund our Martyn’s Law work. We have been working on a blueprint for the design of our new Martyn’s Law Regulator’s functions, including the size and staffing profile for each of the different activities we will need to carry out.

A new Executive Director for Martyn’s Law role at the SIA has been approved and the external recruitment process is well underway, concluding this month. As you would expect for such an important role it has been a rigorous exercise. We are particularly grateful to Figen Murray for her time and input – she has been involved in scrutinising final candidates.

Looking ahead, our plan is that after we go live in 2027, there is a mix of around 100 new operational posts in the Martyn’s Law team working on:

  • Guidance and other educational and outreach work.
  • The formal notifications we receive from premises and events that are in scope of Martyn’s Law.
  • Desk based casework on compliance issues, and scrutiny and assessment of compliance documents and plans submitted by enhanced tier premises.
  • Inspections, formal investigations into concerns about non-compliance and the enforcement work.

 

Mirroring the approach we have with our SIA security inspections teams, we will be basing our inspectors and inspection teams locally across the UK. The other new roles will be office based. We are delighted to confirm that the SIA have decided that the location of most of those Martyn’s Law office based roles will be located in Manchester.

There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes at the SIA over the last 6 months to build some of the foundations; our work will continue with pace over the next 18 months to ensure that we have the right people, tools and systems so SIA is ready for commencement of the legislation when it’s switched on.    

In terms of some of those next steps for the SIA, we will be:

  • Recruiting to the senior roles that will report into the new Director shortly.
  • Designing our new regulatory model for Martyn’s Law activities.
  • Developing a risk framework for our work to ensure consistency for how we approach regulatory matters.
  • Engaging and consulting on our draft s12 guidance about how we propose to exercise our functions in particular the investigatory powers.
  • Creating new internal  business processes and procedures; and, critically
  • Building, setting up and testing the supporting digital and case working systems

 

It is really important to us that we get these steps right from the start.

As we progress further with these essential preparatory steps for the regulator, you will increasingly hear more from us in the build up to the commencement date, which the Home Office has confirmed is at least 24 months from Royal Assent. The Home Office continues to lead on external communications raising awareness of Martyn’s Law and preparing events and premises in scope. You will also see and hear from the SIA Martyn’s Law team at their webinars and roadshows.

There is no doubt in the SIA’s mind that there are high expectations for both the positive impact and success of Martyn’s Law and of the SIA as regulator; that is right and we absolutely want and expect to be held to account for effectively delivering on our role not just by Parliament and Ministers, but by those in scope, the public and of course Figen and the campaign team, who have fought so hard to make Martyn’s law a reality – we know and expect you to keep scrutinising our progress and timely delivery.

Update from Shaun Hipgrave, Director of Protect & Prepare, Home Office

I’d like to start by acknowledging the atrocious attack in Manchester that occurred yesterday. My thoughts go out to all those affected by the attack, including the loved ones of those injured and sadly lost, and our brave emergency services who responded. Support for those affected by this attack and others can be found at Support for victims of terrorism – Support for Victims of Terrorism.

Figen has been a crucial campaigner in driving the Act forward, campaigning for protective security measures at venues across the country. Over the past 6 years not only have I seen Figen as a ferocious campaigner, but I’ve come to know her as a friend and a valued stakeholder.

Since the Act received Royal Assent in April of this year, officials have been working to ensure the implementation period to commencement is a success. This involves working closely with the Security Industry Authority to design and build the regulator; communicating key messages on the legislation; and critically working with our protective security partners, NaCTSO and NPSA, to draft our statutory guidance. This statutory guidance will be published in good time, ahead of commencement, to ensure that those in scope have the required information on what to do and how best to do it.

That said, it is essential that we take the time to get the guidance right. My teams will continue their engagement to ensure those in scope have the information they need to prepare for the Act to come into force. As a world-first regime it is essential that the guidance is carefully developed and calibrated to get it right before wider publication. Sharing guidance that is not accessible and understandable, risks undermining the regime in its infancy.

We are continuing to raise awareness through communications and engagement campaigns which will be key during the implementation period, helping people to understand the purpose of this legislation and how to meet these new requirements. Over the Summer my officials have engaged with thousands of stakeholders through event attendance and webinar delivery and will continue to do so going forwards.  

We have built on materials that we have already published, such as the bespoke landing page on Protect UK, our animation introducing the Act, Government factsheets setting out key aspects of the legislation, and our substantial stakeholder engagement campaign and have launched a One Page Leaflet, explaining scope, requirements, and referencing the regulatory aspect to help people digest this important piece of legislation; and a crucial Myth buster document, addressing misconceptions about the Act. These materials are also now live on ProtectUK.

Finally, I’d like to highlight a message I provided at the International Security Expo earlier this week. Premises and events are not required to spend money on consultants to be compliant with the legislative requirements. The Government’s statutory guidance will assist in determining whether premises or events are in scope of the legislation and, if so, which tier they fall within. It will enable duty holders to make their own assessments on how they will meet the requirements of the relevant tier – and in turn make an assessment on whether they need to seek further support. Please be aware neither the Home Office, SIA, nor the National Counter Terrorism Security Office endorse any third-party products offered by the private sector in respect of compliance with this legislation. The Government’s intent is that those responsible for premises and events in scope can comply with the Act without needing to buy specialist services for training and advice.

Security Minister launches the S12

The Security Minister, Dan Jarvis MP, announced a new security guarding leadership group known as the “S12” has been launched with the aim to bring together security leaders to work as a collective with the Government. Speaking at the International Security Expo in London on Wednesday, the Minister stated the S12’s mandate is to address and elevate critical security industry issues, promote higher standards and professionalism, enhance public safety, and positively shape the perception of the security guarding sector.


You can find out more information on the S12 website here.

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