Policy paper

Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill: Scope (Premises)

Updated 1 November 2024

This factsheet explains the type of premises that will be captured by the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill and so subject to its requirements. The bill covers both premises and events. Further information on which events are in scope can be found in the scope (events) factsheet.

What premises are in scope?

Premises that satisfy the following three criteria fall within scope of the bill:

1. Premises as defined in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill

Premises can be within scope if they consist of:

• a building (a building includes part of a building or a group of buildings); or
• a building and other land.

A building will often have land associated with it which is occupied or used for the Schedule 1 activity of the building. Examples might include a pub with a beer garden, or a hotel with outside grounds used for dining and events.

There are also premises which are primarily land outdoors, but also consist of some buildings. This will include for example certain racecourses, zoos or theme parks.

2. Wholly or mainly used for one of more qualifying activity

For premises to fall within scope, they must be wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses that are set out in Schedule 1 to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. By ‘wholly or mainly used’, we mean that the premises are either i) solely used for an activity in Schedule 1 or, ii) where the premises has multiple uses, it is mainly used for Schedule 1 purposes.

The test of whether premises are mainly used for Schedule 1 purposes will be determined based on the circumstances of each set of premises. For most premises which need to make a judgment as to whether they are mainly used for Schedule 1 use/s, the amount of time used for each activity will be a key factor. For example, an exhibition hall hosting both public and private events, will likely be within scope of this criteria where the usage for public events exceeds the duration than that for private events. 

Where the qualifying premises is not mainly used for Schedule 1 activities, the premises may still meet the qualifying event criteria – see scope (events) factsheet.   

To ensure responsible persons understand how the circumstances at their premises relate to this determination, we will publish detailed guidance with case studies ahead of the measures coming into force.

3. Meet the thresholds for individuals present at a premises

For premises to be in scope, it must be reasonable to expect that from time to time there may be 200 or more individuals present on the premises at the same time. Further information on how this figure is to be calculated can be found in the reasonable expectation of numbers of individuals present factsheet.

In addition, the bill recognises two tiers of premises, with additional requirements applying in respect of the second tier:

• The standard tier: premises that may host 200-799 individuals at the same time.

• The enhanced tier: premises that may host 800 or more individuals at the same time.

Relevant Schedule 1 use of a premises

There are many premises which are used for more than one Schedule 1 activity. The responsible person for a premises needs to determine the “relevant Schedule 1 use” so they can consider the applicable provisions in Schedule 1. Where there are two or more Schedule 1 uses at a premises “the relevant Schedule 1 use” is “the principal use” of those activities.

For example, a hospital building may have parts for use as a hospital, and other parts for retail and food and drink purposes. Whilst it is likely to be relatively simple to conclude that the majority of the building is for use as a hospital and that is its principal use, there are other premises where the consideration may be more complicated. For example, a sports ground may only operate as a sports ground most Saturdays during the year, but at other times it lets out its facilities every weekday, and during weekends in the off season for meetings, conferences and events. Those other uses are of a greater frequency than the uses for sports, however they are for a secondary purpose to its principal use as a sports ground. To ensure responsible persons understand how the circumstances at their premises relate to this determination, we will publish detailed guidance with case studies ahead of the measures coming into force.

Part of a building

The definition of a building includes “part of a building”. There are many buildings which will be used for non-Schedule 1 activities, but which have a part which is used for a Schedule 1 activity. For example, a large factory may have an associated shop for the display and sale of the goods it makes. The factory is a private workplace not in scope. The shop as part of the building may be in scope where it meets the qualifying premises criteria.  

A group of buildings

There are many premises which consist of “a group of buildings” used for Schedule 1 use/uses. Common examples include buildings (and associated land) at a university campus or a hospital complex. Factors which define a group of buildings are that they are in close geographical proximity, and the responsible person is the same for the buildings in the group (or the majority of those buildings, recognising that the responsible person may have let a building out under lease or license, or have control of aspects of procedures or measures).  

At groups of buildings, the aim is to ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach to the consideration and delivery of procedures and/or measures, so that the requirements are delivered effectively and consistently at the group and ensure the safeguarding of the public at the premises.      

Premises within premises

There are examples of premises that will be in scope of the bill which will have multiple units within them, such as a shopping centre or an entertainment complex.

If shops within shopping centres (and similar examples of smaller units within buildings) meet the scope criteria of the bill, they themselves will be a qualifying premises in addition to the shopping centre (or other larger building). Which tier they fall into will depend on how many individuals are present on the premises at the same time. Those responsible for each part or unit will be required to co-ordinate, where necessary, with the responsible person for the overarching building to ensure that the procedures/measures they have in place meet the requirements.

Premises subject to different accommodation criteria

Schedule 1 provides that certain types of premises are standard tier or enhanced tier regardless of the number of individuals who can reasonably be expected to be hosted there. These and the reasons why are set out below. 

All places of worship that can be expected to host 200 or more individuals at the same time will fall within the standard tier (even if that number is 800 or greater). The government has taken this decision due to the differing nature of places of worship from other premises in scope, in being readily accessible and welcoming to all, with no restrictions on entry, or staff routinely present. For many places of worship there are mitigations in place, including those developed with local police and through government funding and work programmes to support them to reduce their vulnerability to terrorism and hate crime.

Buildings used for childcare or primary, secondary or further education that can be expected to host 200 or more individuals at the same time will always fall within the standard tier regardless of their maximum numbers. Existing safety and safeguarding policies and procedures mean there are already a range of measures and procedures in place at these establishments. These include, for example, access control, lockdown and evacuation processes. The operating environments for these establishments are significantly different to higher education premises, which are usually freely accessible to members of the public and/or may frequently be accessed by the public for different events. As such, higher education premises will be subject to the same requirements as other types of premises.

Excluded premises

Schedule 2 of the bill excludes certain premises from the requirements of the bill.

Parliaments and devolved governments. Premises occupied for the purposes of either House of Parliament; the Scottish Parliament or a part of the Scottish Administration; the Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Government; or the Northern Ireland Assembly or a Northern Ireland Department, are not in scope of the bill. This is because these premises already have existing security procedures and measures in place, which are comparable to the bill’s requirements. 

Parks, gardens, recreation grounds, sports grounds and other open-air premises used for recreation, exercise or leisure are excluded, unless they have individuals employed or otherwise engaged to secure or check that members of the public who wish to access the premises have paid to do so or have invitations or passes allowing access. It is considered that these are appropriate conditions to bring these types of premises (primarily open-air premises used for outdoor activities), within scope, and to ensure that the responsible person has the capacity and capability to meet the requirements.

Transport premises that are already subject to existing legislative requirements (e.g.  at applicable airports, national rail and underground premises, international rail premises, and port facilities) to consider and mitigate threats are exempt. This is because these existing requirements achieve comparable outcomes to those intended by the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill.