Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill on (a) small voluntary groups and (b) small venues.

The Government is extremely mindful of the many community and voluntary-run premises across the UK. It has been conscious of the need to ensure the Terrorism (Protection of Premises Bill) strikes the right balance between public protection and avoiding undue burdens on premises and events. That is why important changes were made to the Bill since it was published in draft, particularly to the standard tier which comprises the smaller premises, many of which may be utilised by small voluntary groups.

We have doubled the qualifying threshold at which premises will come within scope of the Bill (at the standard tier) to where it is reasonable to expect that 200 people may be present at the same time. This has removed the smallest premises from scope, and made the requirements less prescriptive. The focus is on having procedures that are intended to be simple and low cost. For example, we have removed the requirement for a specific, prescribed form of training in recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach is not appropriate. Additionally, the Bill will not require premises in the standard tier to purchase or install any additional physical measures.

Dedicated guidance and support will be provided for those in scope of the Bill, to ensure that they have the required information on what to do and how best to do it. The guidance will be easy to follow, needing no particular expertise.