Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: call for evidence

Aims of the Bill

The Bill would introduce requirements on those responsible for certain publicly accessible premises and events to implement measures to protect against terrorist attacks.

It would apply to certain premises in connection with their use, such as shops, nightclubs and railway stations and divides them into standard duty and enhanced duty premises.

The legislation would apply across the UK as national security is reserved to the UK parliament under devolution legislation.

Standard duty premises

Standard duty premises would be premises where it would be reasonable to expect that from time to time 200 or more people may be present in connection with one of the uses listed in schedule 1. A person responsible for standard duty premises would be required to put in place public protection measures to reduce the risk of physical harm to individuals in the event of an act of terrorism on or near the premises. These would include evacuation procedures and the providing information.

Enhanced duty premises and qualifying events

Enhanced duty premises would be those where it would be reasonable to expect 800 or more people to be present from time to time in connection with one of the listed uses.

Qualifying events would be ticketed or otherwise restricted events attended by 800 or more people.

Additional requirements would be placed on persons responsible for enhanced duty premises and qualifying events to reduce their vulnerability to acts of terrorism. These would include monitoring the premises or event and surrounding area and documenting compliance with the requirements.

Regulation: the Security Industry Authority

The Bill would give the Security Industry Authority (SIA) regulatory oversight with powers to assess compliance with requirements and take enforcement action as necessary.

The SIA would have powers to issue notices requiring compliance, restricting the use of venues in the case of non-compliance, and financial penalties.

The Bill would also create criminal offences for persistent failure to comply.

Follow the progress of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill [Bill 009 of 2024-25] was introduced in the House of Commons on 12 September 2024. The bill’s second reading was held on 14 October 2024.

• Bills before Parliament: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
• Read Explanatory Notes: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill
• House of Commons Library Briefing Paper

Oral evidence sessions are expected to be held on Tuesday 29 October.

Guidance on submitting written evidence

Deadline for written evidence submissions

The Public Bill Committee is now able to receive written evidence. The sooner you send in your submission, the more time the Committee will have to take it into consideration and possibly reflect it in an amendment. The order in which amendments are taken in Committee will be available in due course under Selection of Amendments on the Bill documents pages. Once the Committee has dealt with an amendment it will not revisit it.

The first sitting of the Public Bill Committee is expected to be on Tuesday 29 October and the Committee is scheduled to report by Tuesday 19 November. However, please note that when the Committee concludes its consideration of the Bill it is no longer able to receive written evidence and it can conclude earlier than the expected deadline of 5.00pm on Tuesday 19 November. You are strongly advised to submit your written evidence as soon as possible.

Your submission should be emailed to scrutiny@parliament.uk

Further guidance on submitting written evidence can be found here (pdf, 1MB).

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