International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales) hosted a
Protect Duty round table event in July to highlight the role that venues
and event organisers play in ensuring that they are as safe and secure as
possible for attendees.
Taking forward the industry-leading research of ICC Wales’
Protect Duty report published earlier this year, the round table was organised
to galvanise the event sector’s response to the upcoming legislation.
Protect Duty (also known as Martyn’s Law) is a result of campaigning by Figen Murray OBE, the mother of
Martyn Hett who was killed in the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017.
The proposed legislation is designed to improve safety and security at all
publicly accessible locations to mitigate the risk of any future terrorist
attacks.
Attended by events industry leaders, the round table at ICC
Wales featured a short presentation on the findings of the Protect Duty report,
followed by lively open discussion and smaller group workshops to explore ideas
and hone responses.
Heather Lishman, association director of the Association of
British Professional Conference Organisers (ABPCO), said the discussions had
helped break down some of the uncertainty and trepidation surrounding the new
legislation.
She added: “Protect Duty can sound quite formal and scary
but, when you come down to it, to protect somebody should be seen as a very
positive message – it’s a caring thing to do, to save people from harm. If, as
all stakeholders, we collaborate and work out what are the potential harms
together, then hopefully we can alleviate the risk as a team effort.
“New laws always seem like a big change to begin with and
then it just becomes a part of everyday life, and I’m sure this legislation
will be the same because, fundamentally, we all want to keep ourselves and our
event attendees safe.”
Rob Eveleigh, managing director of Bristol-based
professional conference organiser Brightelm, said the responsibility for, and
the cost of, increased security measures had to be carefully examined and that
all mitigation had to be proportionate to the risk at any particular event.
He said: “Additional security costs should be factored in
and passed on by event venues and organisers. There has to be a standard
question for every event and that is: what is the risk? Being reasonable and
practical in answering that question, we can’t ever protect against everything
an individual might do. If we’re making it everyone’s responsibility for an
individual’s actions, where does that stop?"
A consensus was reached that more work needs to be done to
bring the events industry together to impact the Protect Duty legislation in a
proactive way before it reaches the statute book.
Nancy Mollett, venue director at ICC Wales, said: “Having
worked with Figen Murray on the creation of our Protect Duty report, we were
very keen to throw another spotlight on this important legislation.
“It was fantastic to see such a high level of engagement
from everyone around the table and this reinforces our belief that the events
industry can work together, and proactively, to shape the Protect Duty
legislation and our response to it. It is in all our interests to take every
reasonable step possible to mitigate the risk of terrorist attack, and to make
our venues and events as safe and secure as they can be.”
ICC Wales launched its Protect Duty report, with expert
contributions from counter-terrorism security specialists and a foreword by
Figen Murray, in March and has since presented on the subject at IMEX and The
Meetings Show. Protect Duty formed part of this year’s Queen’s Speech programme
of parliamentary business and is expected to be enacted within the next year.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
