KEY POINTS
- Part 1 of the Act, which contains all the duties for premises and events, extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- The thresholds, tiers, duties, regulator (the SIA) and maximum penalties are the same in every nation.
- Differences are mostly procedural: court routes, criminal sentencing limits, how unpaid penalties are recovered, and nation-specific definitions of schools, childcare and hospitals.
- Part 2, which restricts public access to licensing plans, changes the Licensing Act 2003 (England and Wales) and the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, but does not extend to Northern Ireland.
- Premises occupied for the devolved legislatures and governments are excluded, just like the Houses of Parliament.
The short answer
Yes. Martyn's Law is UK-wide. Section 36 of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 says Part 1, which sets the duties for qualifying premises and qualifying events, extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Home Office statutory guidance confirms the Act applies in all four nations, noting that while counter-terrorism is the responsibility of the UK government, many premises in scope sit in devolved areas such as health and education.
So a pub in Cardiff, a hotel in Glasgow and a theatre in Belfast follow the same rules as a nightclub in Manchester. The duties are expected to come into force in spring 2027, and the SIA has said it will confirm the date in advance. To see which tier you fall into, use our free tier checker.
What is the same in every nation
Almost everything a venue manager needs to know is identical across the UK:
- The scope test: a building, wholly or mainly used for a Schedule 1 use, where 200 or more people may be present at the same time, from time to time.
- The tiers: standard tier from 200 to 799, enhanced tier from 800, and qualifying events from 800 with entry checks.
- The duties: notifying the SIA, public protection procedures for everyone in scope, and for the enhanced tier, public protection measures, a compliance document and a designated senior individual.
- The 'reasonably practicable' standard.
- The regulator: the Security Industry Authority covers the whole UK, and notifications go through one SIA portal.
- The notification regulations: the 2026 notification regulations also extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with the same deadlines.
- The maximum civil penalties: £10,000 for standard tier premises; £18 million or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is higher, for enhanced tier premises and events.
- The Home Office statutory guidance, which is the same for all four nations and is also published in Welsh.
Where the nations differ
The differences are in the legal machinery around the duties, not the duties themselves.
| Topic | England and Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who issues an entry warrant | A justice of the peace | A sheriff or summary sheriff | A lay magistrate |
| Recovering unpaid penalties | As if payable under a High Court order | As an extract registered decree arbitral, enforceable through the sheriff court | As if payable under a High Court order |
| Summary maximum for the main offences (s24, s25) | Up to the general limit in a magistrates' court and/or a fine | Up to 12 months and/or a fine up to the statutory maximum | Up to six months and/or a fine up to the statutory maximum |
| Maximum on indictment (s24, s25) | Two years and/or a fine | Two years and/or a fine | Two years and/or a fine |
| Failing to comply with an information notice | Unlimited fine (summary only) | Fine up to level 5 (summary only) | Fine up to level 5 (summary only) |
| Licensing plan changes in Part 2 | Yes, Licensing Act 2003 | Yes, Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 | Not extended |
Appeals against SIA notices and penalties, and applications to decide scope questions, go to 'the tribunal', which the Act defines as the First-tier Tribunal or, where tribunal rules provide, the Upper Tribunal.
Nation-specific definitions in Schedule 1
Some Schedule 1 uses depend on each nation's own laws, because education, childcare and health are devolved. This matters mainly for the special standard tier rule and for identifying the responsible person.
- Childcare: in England, registered early years and later years provision and maintained nursery schools; in Wales, day care under the Children and Families (Wales) Measure 2010 and childcare in schools; in Scotland, early learning and childcare and day care of children under Scottish legislation; in Northern Ireland, day care, pre-school education and nursery schools under Northern Ireland orders.
- Schools: each nation's school types are listed, such as maintained schools, academies and independent schools in England and Wales, grant-aided, independent and public schools in Scotland, and schools providing full-time compulsory education in Northern Ireland.
- Further education: covers further education colleges in each nation, plus certain publicly funded post-16 provision in Wales and specified bodies in Scotland.
- Hospitals: where a hospital is operated by an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust, a Scottish Health Board or Special Health Board, or a Northern Ireland Health and Social Care trust, that body is the responsible person. In any other case, it is the hospital's governing body.
- Sports grounds: defined by the Safety of Sports Grounds Act 1975 in Great Britain and the Safety of Sports Grounds (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.
If you run an education or health setting, check the exact wording in Schedule 1 for your nation. Our guides to schools, colleges and universities and exemptions and special cases explain the effect.
Devolved legislatures and governments
Schedule 2 excludes premises occupied for the purposes of either House of Parliament, the Scottish Parliament or any part of the Scottish Administration, Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Assembly or a Northern Ireland department. These buildings already operate under their own security arrangements. Events held there cannot be qualifying events either.
The exclusion is tied to occupation for those purposes. Other public buildings, such as council offices, libraries or leisure centres run by local authorities, are not excluded and can be in scope as public authority premises or under another Schedule 1 use.
The Explanatory Notes to the Act state that no provision required a legislative consent motion from the devolved legislatures.
Licensing: the plans provisions
Part 2 of the Act deals with a specific risk: detailed premises plans held on public licensing registers could be useful to someone planning an attack. It amends:
- the Licensing Act 2003, which covers England and Wales, and
- the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.
Once in force, licensing authorities and Licensing Boards must not put a plan on the public register unless it complies with regulations the Secretary of State must make on the form and content of plans. Licence holders with older non-compliant plans on the register will be able to apply, with a fee set by regulations, to replace them with a compliant version. In England and Wales, a plan kept off the register may only be disclosed to other licensing authorities or responsible authorities under section 185 of the Licensing Act 2003. At the time of writing, check GOV.UK for whether the plans regulations have been made.
Part 2 does not extend to Northern Ireland, which has its own licensing laws. The notification regulations do, however, ask every responsible person in all four nations to say whether they hold or have applied for an alcohol licence, an entertainment licence or a sports ground safety certificate.
Working with the rest of your compliance framework
Your terrorism procedures need to sit alongside the safety law of your nation. Fire safety, for example, is governed by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in England and Wales, the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 in Scotland and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland. The Home Office guidance warns that terrorism procedures must not conflict with fire procedures, and that a fire can be used as a weapon or a distraction.
For example, a 600-capacity music venue in Edinburgh would follow the same Martyn's Law duties as one in Bristol, but would check its lockdown plan against its Scottish fire risk assessment and its Licensing Board conditions rather than English equivalents. See Martyn's Law vs fire risk assessment for how to align the two.
What to do next
- Confirm your tier with the tier checker. The test is the same wherever you are.
- Identify the responsible person and, for education or health settings, check your nation's Schedule 1 definitions.
- Gather the information for notifying the SIA.
- Prepare proportionate public protection procedures that fit your local fire and licensing arrangements.
- If you hold licensing plans on a public register in England, Wales or Scotland, watch for the plans regulations.
Our packs work for venues in all four nations, because the duties they cover are UK-wide.
Frequently asked questions
Does Martyn's Law apply in Scotland?
Yes. Part 1 of the Act, which contains all the duties, extends to Scotland. The thresholds, tiers, duties and regulator are the same as in England. The licensing plan changes in Part 2 amend the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005.
Does Martyn's Law apply in Northern Ireland?
Yes. The duties in Part 1 and the notification regulations extend to Northern Ireland. The only part that does not is Part 2, which changes licensing registers in England, Wales and Scotland.
Is there a separate regulator in Wales or Scotland?
No. The Security Industry Authority is the regulator for the whole UK, and notifications go through a single SIA portal.
Is the statutory guidance available in Welsh?
Yes. The Home Office has published the statutory guidance and its supplementary documents in Welsh as well as English.
Sources
General information based on the Act and published guidance, not legal advice. Check the official statutory guidance on GOV.UK for your situation.