Venues would have a legal duty to put in place security measures to protect the public from terror attacks under government plans.
It comes in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing, when 22 people were killed as they left an Ariana Grande concert.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will set out the proposals on Tuesday, following an 18-week consultation.
The so-called Protect Duty has been championed by victims’ groups.
These include the Martyn’s Law campaign, which was started by Figen Murray, after the loss of her son, 29-year-old Martyn Hett, in the attack.
Mrs Murray welcomed the report on the consultation and said she hoped the legislation would be introduced as quickly as possible “to avoid the further unnecessary loss of innocent lives”.
The government will seek to introduce the legislation to Parliament at the earliest opportunity, the Home Office said.
There is currently no legislative requirement for organisations or venues to consider security measures at the vast majority of public places.
A consultation, launched in February 2021, found that seven in 10 of the 2,755 respondents agreed those responsible for publicly accessible locations should take appropriate and proportionate measures to protect the public from attacks. This included ensuring staff were trained to respond appropriately.
There was also agreement that measures should be proportionate to a venue’s size, the Home Office said, with smaller organisations not facing the same requirements as larger ones.
Half the respondents were in favour of an inspectorate that would identify key vulnerabilities and areas for improvement, as well as share best practice. There was also an even split of those who were supportive of the use of civil penalties to ensure compliance.
Home Secretary Ms Patel said: “My number one priority is keeping the people of the UK safe.
[Becky Morton/BBC News – original article]
[Pictures – Manchester Arena: Wikipedia/G-13114 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Martyn Hett: BBC News/Family Handout]
