Statutory guidance

Non-statutory supplementary document C: Further resources and learning

Updated 18 May 2026

This non-statutory supplementary document is intended to provide supporting information in relation to the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 Statutory Guidance. ^{[footnote 1]} The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 is subsequently referred to as ‘the Act’.

1. As part of implementing public protection procedures and public protection measures, the responsible person should ensure that staff at qualifying premises or events are aware of the procedures and measures and are competent in their role to deliver them effectively, achieving the desired public protection outcomes.

2. Training, learning, instruction or overall counter-terrorism awareness will usually be necessary to ensure that staff are informed and competent to implement public protection procedures and measures.

3. The following sections outline existing training and awareness products that could be useful to responsible persons in implementing their statutory obligations under the Act. This includes:

• guidance, training and learning that can help those responsible and their management chain to identify, develop and implement appropriate public protection procedures and measures.
• basic counter-terrorism awareness products (such as e-learning and campaign materials). This is for public facing staff or for those specifically in security roles.

4. It is worth noting that some of these products are free of charge and widely available, whereas others may be capacity limited (for example, Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs) need to be available to deliver some training) or come at some cost. There is no obligation under the Act to purchase these products. However, the responsible person could decide that it is appropriate and reasonably practicable to purchase products for their premises or event.

Existing counter-terrorism awareness products

Action Counters Terrorism (ACT)

5. This counter-terrorism initiative has been developed by Counter Terrorism Policing to raise awareness and increase the understanding of counter‑terrorism, identifying suspicious activity and responding to terrorist incidents. Under this banner, the National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) has created a suite of awareness products that can be used by businesses and organisations in training their staff.

6. The desired impact across all ACT products is to:

• improve security culture within venues and public spaces across a hierarchy of roles and business areas
• help organisations to be as ready as they can be for the consequences of a terrorist attack
• support local areas to be as ready as they can be for the consequences of a terrorist attack
• align with, and support the objectives of, the Prepare strand of CONTEST, the UK’s counter‑terrorism strategy

7. The following table outlines the key digital e-learning products offered by the ACT suite of products, which are freely available on ProtectUK. ^{[footnote 2]}

Figure 1: ACT suite of digital products

Title	Information and outcomes	Relevant roles
ACT awareness e-learning	A free online course consisting of short modules that can be started and paused to suit business needs. Modules include: - introduction to counter‑terrorism - identifying and responding to suspicious activity - identifying and responding to suspicious items - responding to a bomb threat - responding to a marauding attacker The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of security vulnerabilities and suspicious activities - increased understanding of what hostile reconnaissance looks like - increased understanding of actions to be taken in response to a terrorist attack	Suitable for staff at all levels. The general public can also complete this course.
ACT security e‑learning	A free online course that provides up‑to‑date and specialised training for front‑line security operatives. This course provides up-to-date counter‑terrorism knowledge to help operatives prevent, prepare for and respond to terrorist incidents and terrorist attacks while on duty. It is not, however, a substitute for premises‑specific or event-specific training, learning or instruction on local security procedures and measures.	Suitable for security operatives.
ACT e‑learning for education	This free course has been developed by the Department for Education in collaboration with NaCTSO using core principles such as RUN HIDE TELL, the HOT Protocol and the Power of Hello.	Suitable for all staff working in education settings.

8. The following table outlines the key products offered by the ACT suite, which are delivered by Counter Terrorism Security Advisors (CTSAs) to qualifying businesses. The delivery of these products depends on the availability of CTSAs.

Figure 2: ACT suite of products delivered by CTSAs

Title	Information and outcomes	Relevant roles
ACT Awareness	A two-hour introduction to counter‑terrorism, delivered in person by CTSAs. Modules include: - identifying and responding to suspicious activity -dealing with suspicious items and bomb threats - responding to a marauding attacker - postal threats The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of what suspicious activity looks like and why it should be responded to - increased understanding of the role staff play in responding - sustained motivation of staff to think more about looking out for suspicious activity or items - sustained confidence of staff to report and deal with threats	Suitable for staff at all levels.
ACT Operational	A facilitated and interactive three-hour scenario-based session delivered by CTSAs for operational supervisors and staff. It aims to: - raise awareness of the ongoing threat from terrorism - improve the security culture within an organisation - increase staff confidence in how to respond to a situation or incident effectively The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased awareness of counter-terrorism guidance and the resources available for businesses and organisations to disrupt hostile activity - increased understanding of the role staff have to play in deterring, disrupting and responding to an attack, and understanding why this is important - increased understanding of the benefits of a top-down security culture and well-tested communication plans - increased knowledge of how to report hostile activity and suspicious items in their organisational and local context - increased knowledge of how to make decisions and act during a terrorist incident to protect themselves and others	Suitable for operational supervisors and staff.
ACT Strategic	A facilitated, interactive workshop delivered by CTSAs to policy writers and strategic decision makers from businesses and organisations in a geographic area. This session will help organisations to: - exchange good practice - review strategies to prepare, manage and recover from a terrorist attack	Suitable for policy writers and / or decision makers.

9. The following table outlines the ACT Corporate product, which is delivered either by CTSAs or by a representative of NaCTSO to qualifying businesses and organisations.

Figure 3: ACT suite of products delivered by CTSAs

Title	Information and outcomes	Relevant roles
ACT Corporate (also known as ACT engagement days)	An engagement day co-ordinated by CTSAs and / or NaCTSO consisting of briefings by subject‑matter experts. Events are delivered regionally to decision makers from small and medium local businesses, or nationally to decision makers from businesses or associations within targeted sectors, such as retail, sport or hospitality. The sessions aim to gain support from senior managers to firmly embed counter-terrorism awareness training and guidance within organisational plans and policies. The sessions are delivered on an annual basis to regional and sector groups. For national / sector-based events, NaCTSO will engage directly with professional bodies.	Suitable for senior managers.

See, Check and Notify (SCaN)

10. This counter-terrorism initiative was developed by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), in partnership with the National Disruptive Effects Unit (NDEU) at the City of London Police. It aims to help businesses and organisations maximise safety and security using their existing resources.

11. The desired impact across the SCaN initiative is:

• potential hostile reconnaissance is detected, information useful in the planning of a hostile act is denied, and ultimately the hostile is deterred
• improved and sustained security culture across job roles within venues and public spaces, including premises and events in and out of scope of the legislation
• organisational level preparedness in disrupting hostile reconnaissance, the planning stage of a hostile event
• to align with, and support, the objectives of the Prepare strand of CONTEST, the UK’s counter-terrorism strategy, and to ensure national-level protection against a terrorist attack is strengthened through increased resilience of the UK’s infrastructure and improved protective security for crowded places

12. SCaN helps organisations maximise safety and security from their existing resources. People are an organisation’s biggest asset in preventing and tackling a range of threats, including criminal activity, unlawful protest and terrorism.

13. SCaN training empowers an organisation’s workforce to correctly identify hostile reconnaissance and know what to do when they encounter it. The skills they will learn will also help them provide an enhanced customer experience. SCaN helps ensure that those seeking to harm their organisation are unable to get the information they need to plan their actions.

See: Recognise what is normal and what is not to be vigilant for suspicious activity

Check: Use friendly conversation (the Power of Hello) to discern if activity is suspicious or not.

Notify: Know how and when to report suspicious activity and what to do if it is reported to them by someone else.

14. Figure 4 below outlines the key products offered by SCaN. It is worth noting that delivery of the face-to-face sessions will be dependent on resource availability.

Figure 4: Key products offered within the SCaN suite of products

Title	Information and outcomes	Relevant roles
SCaN for All (free product)	The SCaN for All staff module is designed to increase the awareness of hostile reconnaissance and how all members of staff can help to counter it. The module is best completed in-person with a 30 to 60 minute session facilitated by an individual in their own organisation using facilitator notes, which are provided. Alternatively, this module can be completed individually online or embedded into an organisation’s own e-learning management system. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of the role staff have to play in disrupting the planning of an attack - increased understanding of why vigilance from all staff is important - increased knowledge of how to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity within the organisation	Suitable for staff at all levels.
SCaN for CCTV Operators (paid for)	Face-to-face three-hour interactive course for live‑monitored control room operators. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of where suspicious activity is likely to occur - increased understanding of common observational and judgement errors - increased understanding of why identifying suspicious activity and avoiding common errors is important<br- increased knowledge of how to effectively communicate about suspicious activity with other staff and the police - increased knowledge of how to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity within the organisation	Suitable for control room operators.
SCaN for Comms Professionals (paid for)	Face-to-face or virtual session with staff working in communication roles, including internal comms, marketing, media liaison and digital. This includes a two-hour briefing. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of what security‑minded and deterrence communications are - increased understanding of why communications need to be designed using security-minded principles - knowledge of how to use communications to deter hostiles - knowledge of how to develop a security‑minded communications plan	Suitable for comms professionals.
SCaN for Line Managers (paid for)	An enhanced training course designed for those in supervisory or management roles to increase their understanding of how somebody within their organisation could conduct hostile reconnaissance in preparation for an insider event. As a result of this course, staff will be able to identify this activity and know how they can help to counter it.	Suitable for those in supervisory or management roles.
SCaN for Customer Facing (paid for)	Face-to-face three-hour interactive course for customer-facing staff covering suspicious activity, vigilance, the Power of Hello and reporting. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased understanding of how good customer service impacts criminality - increased understanding of why a conversation could deter a potential hostile - increased knowledge of how to undertake a conversation to deter hostiles - increased knowledge of how to remain vigilant and report suspicious activity within the organisation	Suitable for customer facing staff.
SCaN for Decision Makers (paid for)	A short face-to-face briefing with senior executives which contains case studies and provides an overview of the SCaN programme. This module seeks to get buy-in from senior members of staff, which is vital to the successful deployment of SCaN at an organisation. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased awareness of the wider suite of SCaN packages available to the organisation - increased understanding of why the organisation needs to bolster efforts against hostile reconnaissance	Suitable for senior executives, managers and policy makers.
SCaN for Security Managers (free product)	A security toolkit whereby the SCaN trainer spends time face-to-face and shares knowledge with the site security manager. This could be in the form of one meeting, several meetings and / or site visits. This could also include the SCaN trainer and security manager creating Hostile Information Plans, conducting Security Posture Assessments and utilising self‑delivery tools. The outcomes for this course are as follows: - increased awareness of the wider suite of SCaN packages available to the organisation - increased understanding of why the organisation needs to bolster efforts against hostile reconnaissance - increased understanding of site-specific vulnerabilities to hostile reconnaissance and the role they have to play in addressing them - increased understanding of why they should address the physical and online vulnerabilities identified - increased knowledge of how to adapt existing resources (online and offline) to bolster efforts against hostile reconnaissance	Suitable for security managers.

Further resources

ProtectUK

15. ProtectUK is an online platform that provides information and guidance to support users with counter-terrorism, security and business resilience to better protect organisations, their staff and their visitors. The platform was developed by the Counter Terrorism Alliance, a focused collaboration of NaCTSO, the Homeland Security Group within the Home Office, and Pool Reinsurance.

16. ProtectUK has a dedicated legislation section, which will continue to be regularly updated to reflect the most recent advice. Additional features include videos by industry professionals giving advice on securing businesses, and further information and explainers on the standard and enhanced tier requirements within the legislation. Further details can be found on ProtectUK. ^{[footnote 3]}

NPSA

17. NPSA is the UK government’s National Technical Authority for Physical and Personnel Protective Security. It develops and publishes free-to-use protective security guidance and other resources for a wide range of users.

18. The NPSA website includes guidance intended to help those responsible for security at public premises and events to understand terrorist attack methodologies, threat and risk, and to identify and implement effective security mitigations, including evacuation, invacuation and lockdown procedures, and incident response planning. ^{[footnote 4]}

19. In addition to guidance, the NPSA website also includes a wide variety of introductory videos and animations, and suites of campaign materials that premises and events may use to raise public and staff awareness and promote good security practices. NPSA are also responsible for the SCaN suite of awareness products outlined within this document.

NPSA’s Café Lockdown Drama

20. NPSA produced ‘Cafe Lockdown Drama’, a short film to introduce the quick actions that a member of staff within a small business can take to lockdown the premises during a terrorist attack. ^{[footnote 5]} The video demonstrates the purpose of lockdown, when to lockdown, who should lockdown (and who decides to do so), how to lockdown and how to maintain it.

HOT Principles

21. These are principles designed to inform your judgement in responding to unattended items.

H: Is it hidden?
Has the item been deliberately concealed or is it obviously hidden from view?

O: Is it obviously suspicious?
Does it have wires, circuit boards, batteries, tape, liquids or putty-like substances visible? Do you think the item poses an immediate threat to life?

T: Is the item typical of what you would expect to find at this location?

22. Further information can be found at ProtectUK – incident procedures. ^{[footnote 6]}

RUN HIDE TELL

23. RUN HIDE TELL is an initiative that was issued by Counter Terrorism Policing to members of the public about what to do in the event of a terrorist attack. The RUN HIDE TELL initiative was designed to provide three simple and clear actions which can be applied to many situations and places in the unlikely event of a terrorist attack. ^{[footnote 7]} It is aimed at individual members of the public and is not a substitute for premises or events having appropriate public protection procedures in place or as an instruction for staff.

Recognise, Assess, Reach (RAR) and Remove. Remove. Remove. campaigns

24. The Recognise, Assess, Reach (RAR) for chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) incidents campaign involves a three-stage process to support an effective response by security control room staff to a CBR incident. ^{[footnote 8]} These can be summarised under the following headings: Recognise, Assess, React.

Recognise: understanding the indicators of a CBR incident to be able to recognise them before attack initiation or as soon as possible during an attack. These include physical symptoms and other signs.

Assess: undertaking a rapid incident assessment to ensure that the response strategy in place, for example, evacuation, is appropriate and minimises further harm to people on the site.

React: communicating and acting rapidly to reduce harm to yourself and others.

25. Remove. Remove. Remove. is a guidance initiative that was issued by Counter Terrorism Policing to members of the public about what to do in the event of exposure to a hazardous substance. ^{[footnote 9]} This protocol has been endorsed by the ambulance, police and fire services.

26. The guidance from this initiative is closely aligned to that for the emergency services and provides simple, consistent advice on early actions following:

• suspected deliberate or accidental exposure to a hazardous substance (vapour, powder or liquid)
• an acid attack

27. The guidance emphasises that if you have been affected:

Remove yourself from the hazard to avoid further exposure. Find a water source if the skin is itchy or painful.

Remove outer clothing if affected by the substance. Avoid pulling clothing over the head if possible. Do not pull off clothing stuck to skin.

Remove the substance from skin if affected. Rinse continually with water if the skin is itchy or painful.

Security on Your Side

28. This initiative was developed by NPSA and further information can be found at NPSA – Security on Your Side. ^{[footnote 10]} It is a security minded communications campaign designed to amplify the deterrent effect of hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) and other security measures, and to disrupt hostiles during the reconnaissance stage of their planning. The rationale is based around the principle that if a hostile believes your venue is secure, they are less likely to progress their attack planning.

29. Designed with the everyday site user in mind, Security on Your Side is a toolkit of communication assets, layered across a range of communication channels, that amplifies the HVM and other security assets that could be in place at the venue.

30. As part of the campaign, there are six key infographics for venues such as a train station, an airport, a stadium/arena, a street market, a bridge and a high street. Each scene depicts the venue on a normal day, specifically highlighting a variety of security measures that are in place.

31. The Security on Your Side campaign is also designed to enhance customer service by making customers and visitors feel safe, while creating the opportunity to exploit and exacerbate a hostile’s feeling of paranoia and anxiety that they may be caught or disrupted during their attack planning.

The Green Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds

32. The Green Guide, which is published by the Sports Ground Safety Authority (SGSA) and can be purchased, is a key piece of existing guidance designed to achieve safety at sports grounds by establishing a balance between good management and good design.^{[footnote 11]} Its main focus is about crowd safety (especially managing a crowd-crush risk at sports grounds). Therefore, it will not be relevant to many other premises in scope of the legislation.

33. The Green Guide’s fundamental principle is that responsibility for all people present in a sports ground always lies with the ground management. It provides details on the assessment of a ground’s safe capacity and outlines how to calculate the entry, holding, exit and emergency exit capacities.

34. The Green Guide details the requirements for the safe movement of people in, out and around the ground including:

• circulation, including ingress, egress, vertical circulation and concourses
• structures and installations, including barriers and separating elements, and spectator accommodation that is both seated and standing
• the importance of effective systems, including communications and control issues, and mechanical and electrical installations
• specific issues, including fire safety, medical and first aid provision, and media provision

35. It is considered the best practice guide for the development and refurbishment of stadiums, and its usefulness in assessing a ground’s vulnerabilities and security is evident.

The Purple Guide

36. The Purple Guide, is published by The Events Industry Forum and can be purchased, is designed to provide guidance for event organisers, suppliers, local authorities and others involved in the outdoor events industry. ^{[footnote 12]} It may therefore act as a useful resource for those working in events to determine how they meet their new statutory obligations under the Act.

Footnotes

1. Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 Statutory Guidance is available at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/terrorism-protection-of-premises-bill-2024 ↩

2. ProtectUK, www.protectuk.police.uk/ ↩

3. ProtectUK, www.protectuk.police.uk/ ↩

4.  NPSA, www.npsa.gov.uk/ ↩

5.   NPSA, ‘Cafe Lockdown Drama’, available at: www.npsa.gov.uk/emergency-incident-management/marauding-terrorist-attacks-mta ↩

6.   ProtectUK, ‘Election security for polling stations and counting venues, Incident procedures’, 26 March 2024, available at: www.protectuk.police.uk/advice-and-guidance/security/incident-procedures ↩

7.  ProtectUK, ‘RUN HIDE TELL’, available at: www.protectuk.police.uk/advice-and-guidance/response/run-hide‑tell ↩

8.  NPSA, ‘Recognise, Assess, React (RAR) for Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) Incidents’, 14 August 2024, available at: www.npsa.gov.uk/security-campaigns/recognise-assess-react-rar-chemical-biological-and-radiological-cbr-incidents ↩

9.  ProtectUK, ‘REMOVE. REMOVE. REMOVE: Guidance on hazardous substance exposure’, available at: www.protectuk.police.uk/advice-and-guidance/response/remove-remove-remove-guidance-hazardous-substance-exposure ↩

10.  NPSA, ‘Security on Your Side’, 4 March 2024, available at: www.npsa.gov.uk/security-campaigns/security-your‑side ↩

11. Sports Grounds Safety Authority, ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds (Green Guide)’, available at: https://sgsa.org.uk/document/greenguide/ ↩

12.  The Purple Guide, ‘The Purple Guide to health, safety and welfare at outdoor events’, available at: www.thepurpleguide.co.uk/ ↩