5th May 2026
As I’ve written about previously, this is very much the space the Decision Support Centre is focused on supporting through our Responsible Person Training, wider DSC resources and related work around operational visibility and context.
Because responsibility may be defined – but capability is what happens when guidance meets reality.
One of the things becoming increasingly clear in the conversation around Martyn’s Law is that there’s a natural limit to what legislation and guidance can realistically prescribe.
They can define expectations.
They can establish principles.
They can explain the “what”.
But the “how” is different.
It’s not just about procedural mechanics, notifications or regulatory process – it’s about how those expectations are interpreted, applied and sustained in real environments.
Because events and venues don’t operate in fixed conditions.
They operate in dynamic environments where:
Which means capability doesn’t really sit in the documentation alone.
It sits in the interpretation and application of it.
In understanding context.
In recognising what proportionate looks like for your own environment.
In knowing how roles, responsibilities and communication actually work in practice.
And perhaps most importantly, in whether people and teams trust themselves, and each other, to recognise the moment for what it is when ‘the’ moment arrives.
The real “how” will emerge through shared practice, training, exercises, lived experience and continual refinement across the events sector (and other sectors).
Because the legislation is designed to apply proportionately across a wide range of varied and constantly evolving environments. And because no two environments operate in exactly the same way, where conditions are constantly evolving.
We need to remember, the intention is to strengthen preparedness and support public trust at a time when the environments we operate in face increasingly complex and unpredictable threats.
Which is why so much of the focus now needs to shift from:
“What does the guidance say?”
to:
“How do we apply it well?”
