Joe GallopICC Wales has launched its cross-sector Protect Duty Events Industry Group, which will aim to prepare the UK events industry for the Government’s proposed Protect Duty legislation.
The new legislation, which will have an impact on how venues and organisers put safety and security measures in place, is being introduced to increase safety in all publicly accessible locations across the UK.
The legislation, also known as Martyn’s Law, is the result of years of campaigning by Figen Murray OBE, the mother of Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017. The legislation formalises the responsibilities and actions that venues must take to mitigate the risk of a terrorist attack.
ICC Wales has launched the cross-sector industry group following its Protect Duty Report published in March, which showed that 77% of respondents had very low or low knowledge of what the legislation meant.
The new group, which is made up of conference organisers, destinations, associations and suppliers, will work collaboratively with organisations across the UK events industry including the Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) and the Association of Event Venues (AEV).
The first meeting will take place virtually on 17 October and will report its findings directly to BVEP’s Government and Advocacy Working Group.
ICC Wales sales director Danielle Bounds said: “From our initial study on Protect Duty, it was apparent that there remains a lack of knowledge about the legislation across the events industry.
“Our aim is to ensure that event venues and organisers can fully comply when Protect Duty comes into effect. We all have an important part to play, and the Protect Duty Events Industry Group will continue those critical conversations around the legislation and feed its findings directly to the BVEP to ensure that both industry and government are aware of what is taking place.”
The ICC Wales Protect Duty Report can be downloaded here.