Policy paper

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Responsible person factsheet

Updated 1 November 2024

This factsheet explains the role under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill of the person who is responsible for certain premises and events, hereafter referred to as the ‘responsible person’.

The responsible person for qualifying premises ​

For premises, the responsible person is the person who has control of the premises in connection with their Schedule 1 use/s (e.g. the use of a building as a sports ground or a hotel). ​The responsible person will usually be the premises operator, e.g. if a person leases a building for retail use as a shop and is in control of the building for that use, they will be the responsible person. Further information on which premises are in scope of the bill can be found in the scope (premises) factsheet.

The responsible person for qualifying events

For qualifying events, the responsible person is the person who has control of the premises at which the event is to be held for the purposes of that event. The relevant circumstances of the event will need to be considered to determine who the responsible person is. For example, if a concert is to be held in a park and the company putting on the event takes control of an area of the park and has control of that area for the purposes of that concert, the company putting on the event will be the responsible person. Conversely, if a stately home puts on a concert in its grounds and maintains control of the site of the concert for the purposes of that event, the stately home will be the responsible person. This would be the case even if the stately home contracted organisations to do aspects of the event (e.g. to provide door security or ticketing).  

Responsibility cannot be delegated to contracted services. Further information on which events are in scope of the bill can be found in the scope (events) factsheet.

Requirements

The responsible person must ensure that the requirements of the bill are met. Further information on the requirements for standard duty premises can be found in the standard duty requirements factsheet.

Information on requirements for enhanced duty premises and qualifying events can be found in the enhanced duty requirements factsheet.

Qualifying events only fall within the enhanced tier; there is no standard tier for qualifying events.

Co-ordination

If more than one person (including more than one company or organisation) is responsible for a qualifying premises or an event, they must, so far as is reasonably practicable, co-ordinate with each other in complying with the bill’s requirements. If qualifying premises form part of other qualifying premises, they must, so far as is reasonably practicable, co-ordinate in complying with the bill’s requirements. The type of co-ordination required will depend on the particular circumstances, but it is expected that responsible persons will combine efforts or actions to reach mutually effective outcomes. Two examples of co-ordination are outlined below,  

1. In a scenario where there are two responsible persons for a qualifying premises or an event, they should coordinate to ensure compliance with the relevant requirements. For example, a joint venture would mean that a premises or an event may have two responsible persons with equal control, and therefore responsibility.

2. In a scenario where qualifying premises form part of other qualifying premises; for example, a department store within a shopping centre. The department store and the shopping centre must, as far as reasonably practicable, co-ordinate to ensure that they are individually, and cumulatively, compliant.

3. The co-ordination requirements only apply to premises that fall within scope of the bill. This means that smaller premises with a capacity of under 200 that are located within qualifying premises do not have any statutory requirement placed upon them.

Co-operation

If a person (“P”) has, to any extent, control of enhanced duty premises or premises at which a qualifying event is to be held but is not the responsible person for the enhanced duty premises or the event (“R”), the co-operation requirement will apply. This means that P must, so far as is reasonably practicable, co-operate with R to allow R to comply with the bill’s requirements.

The co-operation requirement will ensure that the responsible person can comply with the requirements placed upon them and, in instances whereby they require relevant permissions or support from those with control over the land of their building or event, there is a duty on such parties to co-operate, so far as is reasonably practicable. Two examples of co-operation are highlighted below.

1. Where the responsible person has identified that, in order to meet their legal obligations under the bill, changes are required to the structure of the building. Their lease agreement requires that they seek permission from the freeholder for any alterations. The freeholder is obliged to consider such requests to a reasonably practicable level.

2. Where the responsible person has identified the need to implement certain mitigations to meet their legal obligations under the bill and one of the measures requires freeholder permission. Their lease also states that they (the freeholder) should contribute a certain percentage of costs to ensure premises remain fit for purpose. The freeholder is obliged to consider such requests to a reasonably practicable level.

If there is a dispute, the tribunal may be asked to determine whether a person is a responsible person or the extent to which a person who is not a responsible person has control of premises.