Questions and answers.

Under section 2, premises qualify where they are wholly or mainly used for one or more of the uses specified in Schedule 1, they are not excluded by Schedule 2, and it is reasonable to expect that from time to time 200 or more individuals may be present at the same time.

Schedule 1 lists seventeen uses: retail, food and drink, entertainment and leisure, sports grounds, libraries and museums, venues for hire, visitor attractions, hotels, worship, healthcare, transport stations, aerodromes, childcare, schools, further and higher education, and public authority facilities.

The statutory phrase governs: it is reasonable to expect that from time to time that many may be present at the same time. Not the average occasion, and not necessarily the fire-safety capacity — whether a busy occasion of that size is reasonably foreseeable. Where numbers move with the calendar, the defensible figure comes from the busiest realistic occasion.

Yes, under Schedule 2. The provision most often overlooked is paragraph 3: open-air parks, gardens, recreation grounds and non-designated sports grounds are excluded where nothing checks payment, tickets, passes or membership on entry. Controls for a particular event or facility are disregarded where they do not limit access generally.

Parliamentary and devolved-legislature premises are also excluded, as are aerodromes with a security plan under section 24AE of the Aviation Security Act 1982.

Section 2(3): enhanced duty premises are those where it is reasonable to expect 800 or more individuals may be present at the same time. Standard duty premises are any other qualifying premises.

No. Schedule 1 paragraph 9 provides that worship premises are standard duty premises “regardless of how they would otherwise be treated”. The 800 threshold cannot reach them at any capacity.

The same cap applies to early years and childcare (paragraph 13), primary and secondary education (paragraph 14) and further education (paragraph 15). A quotation for enhanced-tier work priced on congregation or roll size is a quotation for work the Act does not require. See places of worship and education.

No, and the distinction is frequently missed. Paragraph 16 fixes who the Responsible Person is for higher education — the governing body — but says nothing as to tier. A university venue reaches the enhanced duty on numbers like any other premises, and so can sit in a higher tier than a considerably larger secondary school.

Section 3 treats qualifying events separately: the premises are not already enhanced duty premises, the public have access to attend, 800 or more are expected at the same time at some point, and entry is controlled by payment, ticket, pass or membership. Accordingly, an event can qualify where the premises does not.

No, and nobody can. The duty rests with the Responsible Person for the premises. It is not capable of assignment, delegation, or certification into another name. An adviser can establish your scope, assess your arrangements, draft your procedures and brief your staff; an adviser cannot become the Responsible Person, and no engagement letter can make one. The position is set out in full under the Responsible Person.

Schedule 1 names it directly in several cases:

• NHS hospitals — the NHS trust, foundation trust, Health and Social Care trust, or Health Board; otherwise the governing body of the hospital.
• Pupil referral units — the maintaining local authority.
• Other schools — the governing body, or the proprietor where there is none.
• Higher education — the governing body of the institution.

The substantive Part 1 duties are not yet commenced. In force to date is the machinery for producing guidance: section 27 from 10 April 2026 (SI 2026/320), and sections 12(2)(a),(b),(3) and 18(5)–(7) from 15 June 2026 (SI 2026/622). The Principal Use of Premises Regulations 2026 come into force on 15 October 2026.

Notification requirements under SI 2026/793 commence when section 9(1) comes fully into force, which has not occurred. Confirm current dates before relying on them — commencement is proceeding in stages.

The Security Industry Authority, under sections 12 and 18. It may issue a penalty notice where satisfied on the balance of probabilities that a relevant requirement has been contravened (section 17).

Section 18 sets the maximum non-compliance penalty, and the gap between the tiers is substantial:

Separately, section 24 creates criminal offences for failing to comply with a compliance notice or restriction notice relating to enhanced duty premises or a qualifying event. Penalties are not the reason to address this, but the asymmetry is material: exposure at standard tier is bounded and modest; at enhanced tier it is neither.