Cameron Roberts investigates how Protect Duty is likely to impact the events industry going into 2023.
Protect Duty, or Martyn’s Law as it is colloquially called, is a legislation that places the responsibility of protecting the general public on organisers, when holding an event at a publicly accessible venue.
The legislation is yet to be published, but it is confirmed to come into force in 2023, with the rumour-mill swirling around what the impact on organisers in the sector is going to be. This, combined with shake-ups in the Government as well as the somewhat fractious relationship that events have with the political powers-that-be, means that Protect Duty is still somewhat of a mystery for many eventprofs.
I spoke to leading experts in the supply chain about what the legislation could look like, where it stands today and what the general industry sentiment is towards Protect Duty.
State of play
Protect Duty is likely to have a wide-scale impact on events. However, in the mind of the public, it’s likely taking a backseat to more recent developments in politics, the resignation of Liz Truss, the appointment of Rishi Sunak and the cost-of-living crisis having taken centre stage in recent weeks.
For many, clarifying the intent of the legislation and the first steps towards being compliant with it will be critical early-success factors. Lesley Whyte, senior account director and business meetings and events expert, Custard Communications, said: “Protect Duty, which comes in next year, requires owners and operators to protect publicly accessible locations from terrorist attacks to ensure they are prepared to deal with incidents effectively. A key part of that planning should include the crisis communications plan so that every member of the team is aware of it and their roles and responsibilities.”
Whilst it’s understandable that headlines are dedicated to the movers and shakers for the powers-that-be, those campaigning for Protect Duty are keen to remind the Government that the pressing issues, which the legislation aims to tackle, aren’t going anywhere.
Figen Murray, Protect Duty campaigner, said: “I’m sure the last thing on the Government’s mind is the Protect Duty. However, it is clearly top of my agenda and it has to remain there, because I maybe have to remind the Government how important it is to keep the British public safe. Terrorism isn’t going away.”
Knowledge is power
One key factor in the success of this legislation in events will be the level of understanding by eventsprofs as well as how prepared they are to meet the criteria set out by Protect Duty itself. This means the industry will need to know it’s coming, it will also need to know what the criteria is and what the impact will be on their job roles.
Danielle Bounds, sales director, ICC Wales, spoke about a survey on the legislation that the venue conducted earlier this year, which stated that 52% of those surveyed had never even heard of Protect Duty. It also showed that more than three quarters described their knowledge as low or very low – demonstating a concerning lack of understanding from eventsprofs.
However, since then things have changed, according to Bounds. She said: “We did a follow-up survey in August and we’re really pleased to say that almost everyone is now aware of Protect Duty. More than half describe their knowledge of the subject as high or average. We’ve definitely seen a measurable improvement there.”
According to Bounds, “there’s a lot of fear and trepidation about the impact of Protect Duty, because of the uncertainty surrounding what the legislation will be, as well as the potential impact on the responsibilities of event organisers across the value chain.”
She added: “The advice that we’re receiving from counterterrorism security coordinators is that the new legislation will have to be proportionate to the particular risk presented by an event. So, the changes need not to be drastic, whereas I think there’s a lot of fear with organisers at the moment in terms of who’s responsible and how much it is going to cost.”
Clearer communication about what Protect Duty will mean for events is the order of the day. But it’s also about communicating to the public, according to Figen Murray. One early step that she spoke about was making Protect Duty more prominent in the public eye so that it’s not just eventprofs who are aware of the oncoming impact. She said: “The more that people talk about it, the more it’s out there on social media and on LinkedIn and at conferences and in write-ups, the better it is.
“I feel the protection of the public shouldn’t just be the responsibility of the Government or the security industry. The general public need to participate.”
Comms in chief Communicating to the public and eventprofs about oncoming Protect Duty demonstrates that transparency and effective dialogue are key for making events safer. This is why crisis comms are likely to form such a critical part of Protect Duty legislation.
Nicky Hunter, PR and communications manager, ACC Liverpool, spoke about how developing communications plans in advance is not only ‘nice-to-have’ but is likely to become a matter of necessity in the coming months.
She said: “The key to effective crisis communications is to be as fully prepared as possible. This includes developing a comprehensive media protocol plan which includes levels of alert and actions required by individuals; all internal and external communications processes; identifying roles, spokespeople and up-to-date contact details for all stakeholders; identifying different audiences and the most effective way to communicate with each audience.”
But for Hunter it is not just about communicating to the relevant parties, it’s also about transparency in threat levels. She explainsed: “Ensuring visitor and staff safety is very much a combined effort between event organisers and venues, as organisations will be required to consider all governmental and police information and guidance around the possibility of terrorist threats to public and staff. Event organisers will need to ensure a detailed security risk assessment has been conducted using available intelligence which would include the UK threat level at the time.”
The time is now
Protect Duty is going to bring changes to the way that we, in events, work, but that change needs to be all encompassing to events organisers, who are so used to having to pivot to new competencies.
For Bounds, the legislation is about awareness and openness. She said: “The most important change that Protect Duty will bring is just to make us think more about our personal safety and the safety of those around us.
“I also think that it’s going to bring to the forefront a subject that has very much been taboo. We have to talk about it in a very real and measured way in the same we would talk about anything else in terms of event planning.”
Whilst legislation may not be in force yet, the industry would do well to prepare for the impact Protect Duty will have on how they organise and operate events.
For Figen Murray, events planners cannot act soon enough. She said: “Don’t wait for the Government to implement it, because we don’t exactly know what it looks like. But follow the simple suggestions we gave in the original brief to the Government and ask for staff training as part of your induction.
“Maybe look inside and outside your building and do a risk assessment, but do it as though it was through the eyes of a terrorist. When you think and look around like a bad person, you will see things that you would normally not notice. Have a mindset of ‘how can I get into this building?’ versus the weak areas.”
