MARTYN’S LAW · PRACTICAL GUIDE
A hall can have many users and one unanswered question: who tells each group what to do? Start by identifying the organisation controlling the relevant use and agreeing how each booking receives the current local information.
Reviewed 14 October 2026 · Free to use · No account needed
Halls and community centres are listed uses. The ordinary premises thresholds apply where the other conditions are met. Responsibility depends on control for the relevant use, with statutory provisions and the circumstances considered. Building ownership, trusteeship, a hire agreement or a security contract alone may leave questions to resolve.
Optional preparation prompts. Agree the local arrangements with the responsible organisation.
Ask the hall organisation to review control, the relevant use and any separately operated rooms. Keep unresolved responsibility questions visible.
Agree who provides the current local procedures to each hirer, who receives them and who answers questions before the activity.
Clarify who briefs volunteers, late arrivals, temporary workers and contracted security officers. Check that the same task has not been assumed by several people.
For each unresolved question, record the person following it up and an agreed review point. These records are optional preparation aids.
Moving people out of the premises or relevant area, away from danger.
Moving people to a place within the premises where the risk of harm is lower.
Securing the premises against entry or exit as the circumstances require.
Giving people at the premises the information they need.
After commencement, the responsible person must ensure appropriate procedures are in place so far as reasonably practicable. Local circumstances determine which actions are suitable. Relevant people need to understand their roles.
The hall says the hirer briefs temporary staff. The hirer expects the security contractor to do it. The contractor briefs only its own officers. Use the discussion to assign the briefing task and agree who confirms completion.
Choose a proportionate format and timing. Keep the outcome focused on questions, agreed actions and who will follow them up. This is an optional exercise.
Ownership is one fact to understand. The Act’s test concerns control for the relevant use, subject to specific provisions. Confirm the operator’s actual arrangements.
Keep an assessment tied to the premises and reviewed expectations. Revisit it when relevant use, boundaries, control or attendance changes; a particular event may need a separate assessment.
Source review: 14 October 2026. OnSiren publishes these guides independently, based on the official sources listed here. The linked organisations retain their official roles, and OnSiren makes no claim of endorsement by the Home Office or the SIA.