A competent persons scheme for protect duty

In light of Protect Duty, Lee Doddridge, director at Covenant, looks at the possibility of a Competent Persons Scheme

On 22nd May 2017, Salman Abedi entered a crowded place and detonated an improvised explosive device, killing himself and 22 others. The subsequent public inquiry has identified several errors, both in the emergency response, but also the processes and procedures surrounding the protection of crowded places.

In 2005, Admiral Lord West of Spithead led the review of Crowded Places within the UK to better understand the number of Crowded Places and also identify proportionate security measures to reduce the risk and improve upon existing emergency response plans. Through the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT) within the Home Office, the National Counter Terrorism Office (NaCTSO) were tasked to lead the work. NaCTSO created a Crowded Places Risk Matrix which consisted of many filters to identify our most significant Crowded Places. Through the network of 276 Counter Terrorism Security Advisers (CTSA), some 27,000 sites were assessed, with less than 2 per cent eventually being placed on the Home Office Crowded Places Risk Register. In total it took just over two years to complete the risk assessments and security reviews of these 500 sites using the CTSA network.

The Manchester Arena inquiry has redefined Crowded Places as Publicly Accessible Locations (PALs). Whilst the inquiry has been running, Figen Murray OBE, mother of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the Manchester attack, has tirelessly campaigned for improved security and driven what was referred to as Martyn’s Law. Martyn’s Law is now in effect Protect Duty. This new security duty is due to be enacted in spring/summer 2023 before the end of the parliamentary session.

As a result of Protect Duty, the Home Office estimates that some 650,000 venues will fall under the new duty. Whilst we do not know for sure what the Duty will entail, it is highly likely to include a comprehensive E  Counter Terrorism Risk Assessment, Emergency Response Plans, Security Reviews, and staff training. Also, the responsibility for security and liability will sit at senior levels within organisations that fall under the Duty.

There are no longer 276 CTSAs across the UK and even if more were recruited, it’s a two-year training program. Furthermore, if it took two years to complete 500 sites, how long would it take them to complete 650,000? The CTSAs cannot deliver Protect Duty on their own.

So, who can deliver the requirements of the new Protect Duty. A CT Risk Assessment requires the assessor to not only understand and determine the risk but also to identify the proportionate security measures that will reduce the risk and protect people. It should also follow the international ISO31000 standard. The threat level in the UK is Substantial, and that applies to the UK as a whole, it is not site specific. So you also must know the types of threats, the capabilities and the intentions of the attacker/s. Are you competent enough to complete the assessment and protect your colleagues and/or customers?

A Competent Persons Scheme is currently being drafted by the Home Office along with NaCTSO with a time frame of two years to define and roll out the scheme. There have been many rumours within the security industry as to what qualifies someone to be deemed ‘Competent’, a five-day SIA Security Consultants course has been looked at, as has a three-week course led by the Security Service, identifying someone within the organisation and utilising the private security industry. All options are open at the moment.

To date, we simply do not know what the scheme will look like. NaCTSO are pulling together a working group, which includes the security industry, but even this group has not yet been established or confirmed. But is that enough? Some insurers have stated that they will determine if the person who completed the risk assessment is indeed a Competent Person during any subsequent claim.

The Competent Person will also be legally liable for the advice and work they deliver. As a qualified and experienced security consultant, I am required by clients to have liability cover in excess of £10 million. Who would volunteer to be the Competent Person in your business? CTSAs have already been told they will no longer be covered by their police force’s insurance and will personally be liable for the advice they give.

One key deliverable that will be very difficult to achieve is that of consistency with regards to the risk assessments completed by the Competent Person. 72 per cent of respondents to the inquiry requested a Risk Assessment template, NaCTSO issued a one-page form and guidance on their website. But if the Competent Persons Scheme states that someone within the organisation can be deemed ‘Competent’, do they have the knowledge to undertake the risk assessment? Would a vicar know how to reduce the risk from a Vehicle as a Weapon attack, would he even know all the forms of threats and how attacks could manifest? Would a head teacher know what Hostile Vehicle Mitigation is, let alone what the standard for installation is? Would a supermarket manager know how to write a Dynamic Lockdown procedure? If you are a supermarket chain with 600 stores, how do you ensure consistency across all risk assessments?

A fear for many is that the Competent Persons Scheme will be watered down and lose the impact it could have by allowing non-qualified people to be deemed as competent. Would you let a non-Corgi registered gas engineer service your boiler? Of course not. Why would you then allow a non-qualified person to advise you on security that protects you, your colleagues, and customers from a terrorist attack?

The Competent Persons Scheme will be decisive that’s for sure, the security industry is not trying to upsell and profiteer from the Protect Duty, no, but we are passionate about our industry and keeping people safe. Let’s not forget that whilst 22 people died at Manchester Arena, some 1,017 were injured, many with life changing injuries and long-term mental health issues from surviving the trauma of a terrorist attack. Are you competent to reduce the impact of the next attack on a Publicly Accessible Location?