Charities urged to submit views on Protect Duty

Charities are being urged to take part in a consultation on how public places can ensure they are prepared and protected from potential terrorist attacks.

The proposed Protect Duty will set out a legal requirement for all public places to ensure they are prepared for a terrorist attack.

The consultation is for all sectors and the Home Office is keen to hear the views of more from the charity sector before the deadline, which is 2 July.

Martyn’s Law, as the proposed legislation is known, would require staff at venues, of which churches would be included, to be trained and aware of the nature of threats, likely attack methodologies and how to respond. This could be a burden on time and costs, but could also disproportionately affect faith organisations which depend heavily on volunteers.