Martyn's Law across the UK's four nations
Last reviewed:
Yes, Martyn's Law applies across all four nations of the UK: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (para 1.3). Counter-terrorism is a matter reserved to the UK government, which is why the Act applies uniformly even in areas like health and education that are otherwise devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd or the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Same tiers, same duties, same regulator, everywhere
Wherever your premises sits in the UK, the same framework applies: the same four-condition test for whether you're in scope, the same 200 and 800 thresholds for standard and enhanced tier, the same core duties, and the same regulator, the SIA, handling notification and inspection UK-wide. See what is Martyn's Law and who Martyn's Law applies to for the detail, none of which varies by nation.
Where small differences do exist
The Act itself is uniform, but it doesn't operate in a vacuum, it sits alongside each nation's existing legal system, and a few genuinely minor differences follow from that rather than from the Act treating any nation differently on purpose.
- Criminal sentencing mechanics. Where the Act creates criminal offences, providing false information to the regulator, for instance, the courts, procedure and precise sentencing framework that apply follow each jurisdiction's own separate legal system, England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland each have their own courts and criminal procedure. The offences themselves are the same UK-wide; how a prosecution runs through the courts follows local practice. See the penalties and enforcement ladder for what the offences and civil penalties actually are.
- Licensing law interactions. The Act makes a consequential amendment to Scotland's own licensing regime, the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, reflecting how the two pieces of legislation interact for licensed premises specifically. This is a technical drafting point rather than something that changes your duties under Martyn's Law itself.
Devolved-legislature premises are excluded, not exempt by nation
Premises belonging to a devolved legislature, the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd, the Northern Ireland Assembly, are excluded under Schedule 2, in the same way the UK Parliament's own premises are. This is a Schedule 2 exclusion available equally across the nations, not a nation-specific carve-out for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland's premises generally. See what's exempt from Martyn's Law for the full exclusion list.
What this means in practice
If you're running a venue in Cardiff, Glasgow or Belfast, work through exactly the same questions as a venue in England: does it meet the four-condition test, which tier does its numbers put it in, and what do the standard-tier duties require. Nothing about being in a devolved nation changes that assessment. Start with the free tier checker, no email required, wherever in the UK your venue is.
Common questions
Is there a separate Scottish regulator for Martyn's Law?
No. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the regulator across all four nations, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is no separate Scottish, Welsh or Northern Irish regulatory body for this Act.
Does Northern Ireland have its own version of Martyn's Law?
No, it's the same Act. The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 applies directly in Northern Ireland, with the same tiers, thresholds and duties as everywhere else, not a separate NI-specific law.
About this guide. Written by the Martyn's Law Plan team, based on the statutory guidance published under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025. Last reviewed: . Read the official guidance on GOV.UK.
Sources: Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025; Home Office statutory guidance (April 2026, updated May 2026) and supplementary documents. Paragraph references are to the statutory guidance. General information, not legal advice. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.