Guide
Martyn's Law training cost: what the Act actually requires
Updated
Training is where the largest avoidable spend sits, because the Act does not require any. Here is what the statutory guidance says, in its own words, before you sign anything.
The paragraph to quote back at a salesperson
Paragraph 7.51 of the Home Office statutory guidance: "There is no statutory requirement in the Act for the responsible person, or for staff working at qualifying premises and qualifying events, to carry out specific training, learning or instruction related to counter-terrorism or the Act's requirements." Paragraph 7.55 adds: "It is not mandatory to pay for third-party training or learning to comply with the Act's requirements" (gov.uk).
What is actually required
That staff with a role in the procedures know what the procedures are and how to carry them out. The guidance at 7.53 lists acceptable forms: "formal training courses, team briefings, annual refresher briefings, induction sessions, shadowing others, supervised practice with specific equipment, e-learning modules or structured training courses". A briefing delivered by your own duty manager is on that list. So is a prompt card, which paragraph 7.58 suggests explicitly.
Where paid training does earn its money
- Enhanced tier measures, where paragraph 8.50 notes that if nobody knows how to carry out a measure, the measure is not properly in place and the requirement is not complied with.
- Equipment operators, for example CCTV control room staff, where the guidance points to schemes such as NPSA's See, Check and Notify.
- Multi-site groups, where a train the trainer approach is genuinely cheaper than briefing every site individually.
- Record keeping, since paragraph 8.53 says a record of training undertaken is a necessary element of the enhanced tier compliance document.
The test to apply to any quote
- Ask which tier the training is for. If you are standard tier, ask which statutory provision requires it. There is not one.
- Ask whether the material is site specific. Paragraph 7.56 says training should focus on your specific procedures rather than a generic module.
- Ask what you keep. Briefing packs, prompt cards and a register you own are worth more than a certificate you cannot reuse next year.
The guidance includes a pointed example: a responsible person sees a course advertised online costing thousands and claiming to make attendees compliant, and decides their staff already understand the lockdown procedure and the course is unnecessary. That example is in the official document.