Most venues with safety obligations are small: village halls, churches, community centres, sports clubs, function rooms. Almost none of them employ anyone whose job includes safety compliance. The duty sits with a trustee, a warden, a parish clerk or a manager who has plenty else to do.
The official guidance is well written, but it is long, and it is written for every kind of premises at once. Someone volunteering as a hall trustee needs a shorter route to the answer. That is what this site is for.
Why the guidance is free
Understanding what your premises has to keep should not cost anything, so the guides and tools on this site are open to anyone.
The Venue Record itself is the system that holds those records once the thinking is done: current documents, sign-off by the people who need to know, drill and check logs, reminders, and the evidence pack when somebody asks for it.
Independence
The Venue Record is independent. It is not connected to, endorsed by or approved by the Home Office, the Security Industry Authority, any fire and rescue authority or any other government body. The Government has advised against providers claiming they can make a venue compliant with Martyn's Law, and no claim of that kind is made anywhere on this site.
Nothing here is legal advice. For Martyn's Law the Home Office section 27 statutory guidance and the SIA are the authorities. For fire safety your own fire risk assessment and your local fire and rescue authority take precedence over anything written here.
Accuracy
Every guide carries the date it was last reviewed. Where the position is uncertain or contested, we say so rather than picking the more confident-sounding answer. Where common practice differs from legal requirement, we distinguish between the two. If you spot something wrong, tell us and it will be corrected.
Linking to the guides and tools
Parish and town councils, rural community councils, dioceses, county associations and community organisations are welcome to link to anything here from their own websites and member resources. If a short description or a specific landing page would help your members, get in touch and we will put one together.
Contact
Cambridge, United Kingdom. Email hello@venuerecord.co.uk.