Straight answers about Martyn’s Law.
Written for volunteer committees, parish clerks, church wardens and school business managers — the people who actually have to do this, in the evening, without a security department. Plain English, no scare stories, and we will tell you when the answer is that you owe nobody anything.
Martyn’s Law for village halls
Most village halls are either comfortably out of scope, or in the standard tier and closer to compliant than they fear. Here is how to tell which, and what to do about it.
Read the guide 7 min readDoes Martyn’s Law apply to churches?
Places of worship get one specific concession, and it is not the one most people assume. Here is what it is, and what it is not.
Read the guide 7 min readMartyn’s Law for schools and nurseries
Most schools are in scope, and most schools are also further along than they think — because you already have a lockdown plan. Here is how the law fits around what you have.
Read the guide 8 min readThe standard tier: what you actually need to do
The standard tier is deliberately light. This is the whole of it, in order, with the things you can safely ignore marked as such.
Read the guide 8 min readInvacuation, lockdown and the other words nobody explains
Four words, one of which is not really a word. Here is what each one means, when you would use it, and how to tell them apart in the four seconds you would actually have.
Read the guide 5 min readWhen does Martyn’s Law actually start?
The honest answer is that nobody can give you a date, because the government has not set one. Here is exactly what has happened so far, and what to watch for.
Read the guide 6 min readMartyn’s Law templates: what you actually need to write
Search for a Martyn’s Law template and you will find plenty of them. Before you download one, it is worth knowing what the standard tier actually asks for, which is less than most sellers imply.
Read the guide 7 min readMartyn’s Law for parish and town councils
A council often holds several buildings and runs several events, and the Act looks at each of them separately. Here is how to work through the list, and what to record.
Read the guideThe rule, once, in three lines
- Under 200 people reasonably expected at once — out of scope. Every kind of premises, churches and schools included.
- 200 to 799 — standard tier.
- 800 or more — enhanced tier, except places of worship and education settings, which stay standard tier however large they get.
Everything else on this site is detail on those three lines. The free checker applies them to your venue in about two minutes, and tells you plainly if the answer is that Martyn’s Law does not apply to you at all.
Indicative, not a legal determination. These guides are our plain-English reading of the law and the Home Office guidance. They are not legal advice.