GroundWork Readiness
Glossary

Every term, explained plainly.

A reference for the words and phrases you’ll meet while building or amending your readiness document - with the plain meaning and, where relevant, the official definition. Jump to any section below.

01 The basics 02 Organisation & premises 03 Scope & tiers 04 Locations & layout 05 Existing protocols 06 The four procedures 07 Review & sign-off 08 Your document
How to use this glossary. These definitions are here to help you complete your document accurately. Where a term has an official meaning under the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 or its statutory guidance, we note it. GroundWork helps you record your own facts and judgements - it does not give security advice, and a definition here is guidance, not a determination for your specific premises.
01

The basics

Core terms behind the whole document.

Martyn’s Law
The common name for the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 - the law that places duties on those responsible for certain public premises and events to be better prepared for a terrorist attack. Named in memory of Martyn Hett, killed in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack.
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
The full legal name of Martyn’s Law. It sets out which premises are in scope, the two tiers of duty, and what a responsible person must do to prepare.
Responsible person
The person or organisation accountable for meeting the duty at a premises - usually whoever has control of the premises or event. This is the person completing and signing the document. For a larger site or trust, it may be the organisation operating the whole premises.
Readiness document
The structured record you produce with GroundWork, capturing your premises details, locations, procedures and preparations. It evidences the diligence you’ve undertaken - it does not certify compliance with the Act.
Public-protection procedures
The steps a premises puts in place to keep people safe in the event of an attack. Under the Act these centre on four procedures: evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication.Standard-tier premises are expected to have reasonably practicable procedures in place, using the resources they already have.
Reasonably practicable
A test of what it is sensible and proportionate to do, weighing the level of risk against the time, cost and effort involved. It does not mean “everything possible” - it means sensible, proportionate steps appropriate to your premises.
SIA (Security Industry Authority)
SIA - the regulator responsible for Martyn’s Law. The SIA oversees the duty; it does not approve, endorse, or certify commercial products or individual premises. GroundWork is not affiliated with the SIA.
↑ Back to top
02

Organisation & premises

Terms in the first part of the form.

Organisation
The legal entity responsible for the premises - the company, charity, trust, or body that operates it. This is usually the name that appears on Companies House or your governing documents.
Category (Schedule 1 use)
The public-facing use of your premises, drawn from the list of qualifying uses in Schedule 1 of the Act (for example: shop/retail, food & drink, entertainment, hotel, place of worship, healthcare, education). Your category is about how the premises is used, not what your business is called.
Schedule 1
The part of the Act that lists the public-facing uses that bring a premises into scope. If your premises’ main use is on this list, it may qualify; if its principal use is not (for example a pure office or warehouse), it generally falls outside scope.
Companies House
The UK registrar of companies. GroundWork can look up your company here to confirm your company number and registered details. Not every organisation is a registered company - that’s fine, the field is optional where it doesn’t apply.
Company number
The unique number Companies House assigns to a registered company (or LLP, CIC, etc.). It identifies your organisation on the public register.
SIC codeStandard Industrial Classification
A code describing the nature of a company’s business, held by Companies House. A company can have up to four. It’s shown for reference and is not the same as your Schedule 1 category - your category is chosen based on the premises’ public-facing use, not derived from the SIC code.
UPRNUnique Property Reference Number
A unique identifier for a property or piece of land in Great Britain. It identifies the location, not the business - several businesses can share one UPRN. GroundWork uses it as a property attribute, not as your document’s identity.
Branch / site / store number
Your own internal reference for this particular site, if you use one (for example a store or branch code). Optional - it simply helps your records line up with GroundWork’s.
Complex / campus / cluster
Where your premises is made up of more than one building operated together as a single site - such as a retail complex, a campus, or a hospital with several buildings. The number of buildings helps determine how occupancy is counted and who the responsible person is.
Max expected occupancy
The largest number of people you can reasonably expect to be present at the same time in connection with the premises’ qualifying use - including staff, not just customers or visitors. It’s a reasonable expectation of a busy peak, not an average.
↑ Back to top
03

Scope & tiers

How the Act decides what applies to you.

In scope
A premises is “in scope” if it has a qualifying Schedule 1 public-facing use and can reasonably expect enough people to be present at the same time to meet the threshold. GroundWork’s prompts help you work this out.
Standard tier
The lower tier of duty, for qualifying premises at the smaller end of the threshold. The focus is on reasonably practicable procedures using existing resources - no new systems or measures are mandated.Standard-tier premises are expected to have the four public-protection procedures in place, so far as reasonably practicable.
Enhanced tier
The higher tier of duty, for larger qualifying premises. In addition to procedures, enhanced-tier premises are expected to put in place measures to reduce vulnerability and to document their assessment, with a designated senior individual accountable.
Threshold
The occupancy level at which a duty applies, and the level that separates standard from enhanced tier. GroundWork uses the numbers you provide, together with your category, to indicate where you sit.
The cap (education, worship, childcare)
Certain premises - including most schools below higher-education level, places of worship, and childcare - are treated as standard tier even if their numbers would otherwise reach the enhanced band. This is a deliberate cap in the Act. Higher education (universities) is not capped.
Voluntary readiness
Preparing and producing a readiness document when you are not legally required to - because you’re below the threshold, or simply want to. It carries no statutory duty and doesn’t make a premises “compliant”; it’s good practice and a signal you take preparedness seriously.
Out of scope
A premises the Act does not place a duty on - for example a pure office, warehouse or factory whose principal use isn’t a Schedule 1 public-facing use. If GroundWork indicates you’re out of scope, you’re told plainly, and can still choose a voluntary document if you’d find it useful.
Material change
A significant change that means your document should be reviewed sooner - such as a change to how the premises is used, a significant change in expected numbers, a change to the layout or immediate surroundings, or a change of responsible person.
↑ Back to top
04

Locations & layout

Pinning the places your procedures rely on.

Pinned location
A specific place you mark on the map (or enter by coordinates) that your procedures refer to - an exit, a door, an assembly point, and so on. Each is recorded precisely so it can be communicated exactly to staff and emergency services. Your location data stays on your own device and is never stored on our servers.
Coordinates (latitude / longitude)
A precise, universal way of identifying a point on the ground, as two numbers. GroundWork treats coordinates as the authoritative location value; you can enter them by typing as well as by clicking the map.
what3words
A system that gives every 3-metre square in the world a unique three-word address (for example, ///filled.count.soap). It’s an easy way to say exactly where a point is out loud. GroundWork records it alongside the coordinates.
Exit
A way out of the premises - a final exit door, fire exit, or main entrance used to leave. Marking each helps your evacuation procedure reference exact routes out.
Internal door
A door within the premises that matters to your procedures - for example a fire door held closed, or a door secured during lockdown. Marking these helps show how areas are separated or secured.
Assembly point
A designated place, usually outside and clear of the building, where people gather after evacuating so they can be accounted for. It’s good practice to have a primary and a secondary assembly point.
Dispersal area
A place, or set of places, where evacuees move to separately rather than all gathering in one spot. Dispersal is increasingly favoured in crowded settings because a single large gathering of evacuees can itself become a target - dispersing people reduces that risk. Used alongside, or instead of, a single assembly point where appropriate.
Evacuation route
The path people take to leave the premises and reach an assembly point or dispersal area - including a step-free route for anyone unable to use the main exits.
Invacuation refuge
A safer area inside the premises, away from external glazing and the immediate threat, used when sheltering in place is safer than leaving.
Triage area
A designated area where casualties can be assessed and prioritised for treatment during a serious incident. Marking one is good-practice preparedness - it is not a specific requirement of the Act’s four procedures, but many sites choose to plan for it.
AEDAutomated External Defibrillator
A portable device used to help someone in cardiac arrest. Recording its location on your document means staff and responders can find it quickly. Record your own AED as a location - GroundWork does not pull in external defibrillator databases.
Step-free access
A route into or out of the premises that avoids steps, usable by wheelchair users and anyone with reduced mobility. Noting step-free exits helps show how everyone, including disabled people, can evacuate or shelter.
Muster point
Another term for an assembly point - the place people gather after leaving the building.
↑ Back to top
05

Existing protocols

What you already have and already do.

Existing equipment & facilities
Things you already have on site that your procedures make use of. The Act at standard tier is about using existing resources - this section records what those are, not new systems you must buy.
Panic alarm (with external reach)
An alarm that, when triggered, alerts an external party such as a monitoring centre or the police - not just people inside the building. Its “external reach” is what makes it useful for raising the alarm quickly.
EPOEmergency Power-Off
A control that shuts down or switches systems in an emergency - for example emergency lighting, utilities, or automatic door closures - usually from a single point such as a duty office.
Tannoy / PA system
A public-address system used to give clear spoken instructions across the premises - essential for communicating quickly with staff and the public during an incident.
Two-way radio
Handheld radios (walkie-talkies) carried by staff so they can coordinate directly during an incident, independent of phones or wifi.
CCTV
Closed-circuit television - cameras monitoring areas of the premises. Recording where CCTV covers helps show how areas are watched and how an incident might be seen and assessed.
ANPRAutomatic Number Plate Recognition
Cameras that automatically read and log vehicle number plates - for example at a car park entrance. Noting whether ANPR is active records a capability that can support security awareness on site.
Emergency-services liaison officer
A person affiliated with the site who is trained to liaise with the emergency services - a single, informed point of contact who can brief responders quickly and accurately during an incident.
Routine security inspection (White level inspections)
Regular, routine checks of the premises for security purposes - for example checking that exits are clear, doors secure, and nothing is out of place. Recording that these are done routinely shows an ongoing, proactive approach to security.
Internal coded messaging
An agreed internal signal or code word used to alert staff to a situation discreetly - so they can act without alarming the public unnecessarily. Often used to begin a lockdown or bring staff to readiness.
Bomb-threat awareness & action plans
Procedures and staff awareness for responding to a bomb threat - for example how a threat is received, recorded, assessed, and escalated. Having a plan and briefed staff makes a calm, correct response far more likely.
Unmanned
Whether the premises is ever open or accessible without staff present. Most public premises are staffed throughout opening hours with a duty manager on each shift.
Support types
The kinds of on-site support available - for example employees, security staff, trained first aiders, and CCTV monitoring - that your procedures can draw on.
↑ Back to top
06

The four procedures

The heart of the document.

Evacuation
Moving people out of the premises to safety - the process of getting everyone out and to an assembly point or dispersal area, by the safest available routes.One of the four public-protection procedures the Act centres on.
Invacuation
Moving people to a safer place within the premises, rather than out of it - used when remaining inside is safer than leaving, for example an external threat.One of the four public-protection procedures the Act centres on.
Lockdown
Securing the premises to restrict or prevent entry and exit - for example securing doors and shutters and stopping movement in and out - to protect people from a threat outside or moving through.One of the four public-protection procedures the Act centres on.
Communication
Alerting people and giving clear instructions during an incident - reaching staff and the public quickly and consistently, and liaising with the emergency services.One of the four public-protection procedures the Act centres on.
Initiates
Who starts a procedure - the person who can trigger it (for example the duty manager, or a trained keyholder in their absence).
Decides
Who makes the decision to act - the person with authority to decide the procedure should happen, and on what basis (for example on recognising a threat, or on instruction from emergency services).
Services alerted
How the emergency services are contacted - usually a 999 call, often supported by a monitored panic alarm - and who makes that contact.
Staff aware
How your staff know their role in the procedure - for example through induction, refresher training, shift briefings, and clear signage.
How tested
How the procedure is practised or exercised so that it works when needed - for example drills, walk-throughs, and reviews, and how often they happen.
Applies / Not applicable
Whether a given procedure is relevant to your premises. Most premises will find all four apply, but if one genuinely does not, you can record that and note why.
Code word
An agreed word or phrase announced (for example over the PA or radio) to start a procedure such as lockdown, so staff act promptly without alarming the public.
↑ Back to top
07

Review & sign-off

Confirming and dating the document.

Signatory
The person signing the document - normally the responsible person - confirming the details are accurate and the procedures are in place.
Capacity
The role in which the person is signing - for example “Responsible person”, or their job title. It records the authority under which they’re confirming the document.
Attestation
The statement the signatory agrees to - confirming that the details represent the current procedures and characteristics of the premises, and that the information is accurate. It’s a declaration of honesty, not a certificate of compliance.
Date reviewed
The date the document was completed or last reviewed. It anchors the document in time and starts the clock for the next review.
Review due
The suggested date by which the document should be looked at again. A material change to your premises should prompt a review sooner than this date.
↑ Back to top
08

Your document

References, versions and verification.

Site number
A sequential reference (for example GW-S-000042) assigned to your premises the first time you produce a document for it. It stays the same across future versions of the same site’s document.
Document reference
A unique reference (for example GW-D-MPQ_7KFA) for a specific issued document. A fresh reference is created each time you issue or amend, so every individual document can be identified and verified.
Version
The version of your document (for example STD-1.0, then 1.1 after an amendment). It increases when you amend, so the history of your document is clear. It refers to your document, not to the GroundWork app.
Status (active / superseded)
Whether a document is the current one (“active”) or has been replaced by a newer version (“superseded”). Verification shows this, so nobody relies on an out-of-date version.
Amend
Updating an existing document. Because the structured data is carried inside your PDF, you re-upload your own document and update what’s changed - producing a fresh version and reference, without starting again.
Hash / fingerprint
A cryptographic “fingerprint” of your exact document - a unique string calculated from the file. We store only this fingerprint, never the document. It lets a document be confirmed as genuine and unchanged since it was created.
QR code
The square code printed on your document. Scanning it opens the verification page for that document, so anyone you show it to can confirm it’s genuine and current.
Verification
Confirming a document is a genuine GroundWork document - its version, status and dates - without revealing any of its contents. It confirms authenticity and date; it does not certify compliance.
↑ Back to top