What is a Martyn's Law assessment?

A Martyn's Law assessment is a structured review of a premises against the requirements of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, producing a tier determination, a gap analysis, a technology audit and a documented implementation plan. It is the foundation a responsible person works from, not compliance on its own. The assessment establishes what needs doing; the implementation phase is what closes the gap.

A typical assessment covers five components:

1. Tier determination. Capacity calculation under Supplementary Document A (fire safety safe-occupancy, historic attendance or another justified method, including staff and volunteers), confirming whether the premises sits in the standard tier (200 to 799) or the enhanced tier (800+).
2. Gap analysis against the four named procedures. Evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication. Each is checked against existing site-level documentation and tested against realistic scenarios.
3. Technology audit. A walkthrough of public address, voice alarm, voice evacuation, digital signage, mass notification, lockdown trigger paths, CCTV monitoring, access control integration and any building management systems involved in an emergency response. The audit identifies what exists, what is missing, and what needs upgrading or integrating.
4. Procedure review. Whether existing emergency procedures actually map to the four named categories, who has authority to trigger which response, and how the procedures cascade across staff, volunteers, contractors and tenants.
5. Documentation deliverable. For enhanced tier, a narrative-style document the designated responsible person can sign off, hold for SIA inspection and use as the basis for staff briefing. For standard tier, a lighter-touch record that demonstrates the duty has been considered.

Costs vary with scope. A single-site standard tier assessment typically runs £2,000 to £8,000, depending on premises size and existing documentation maturity. Enhanced tier or multi-site assessments typically run £10,000 to £40,000, occasionally higher for complex estates with shared-space coordination requirements. Lead time is two to six weeks from kick-off to delivered documentation.

The assessment is the entry point, not the destination. Strive AV's Martyn's Law assessment service produces the deliverable, and the broader Martyn's Law compliance work covers the technology implementation that follows.

Quick reference: tier determination + gap analysis (four procedures) + technology audit (PA, voice alarm, signage, mass notification, lockdown) + procedure review + documented deliverable; £2k-£8k standard tier single site, £10k-£40k enhanced or multi-site; 2-6 weeks delivery.