Government news and campaigns

‘Martyn’s Law’ introduced to Parliament to better protect the public from terrorism

The public will be better protected from terrorism under new laws requiring many public venues to improve preparedness against attacks and bring in measures to help keep people safe. The new legislation, also known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ in tribute of Martyn Hett who was killed alongside 21 others in the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, will make sure venues across the UK must consider the security of the public, and take steps to protect them from harm. 

Read more on this here.

Government to launch new coalition to tackle knife crime

Joined by anti-knife crime campaigner, and co-founder of the Elba Hope Foundation, Idris Elba, the Coalition to Tackle Knife Crime will bring together campaign groups, families of people who have tragically lost their lives to knife crime, young people who have been impacted and community leaders, united in their mission to save lives and make Britain a safer place for the next generation. The coalition will also include technology companies, sport organisations as well as partners in the health service, education and the police.

Read more on this here.

New change to some offenders’ automatic release dates

Prisons in England and Wales are almost full. To protect the public, we need to free up capacity. Some prisoners will now serve 40% of their sentence in prison rather than 50%. The remainder of their sentence will continue to be served in the community under the supervision of probation. This change will be reviewed after 18 months.

Read more on this here.

Protection zones around abortion clinics in place by October

Protection zones around abortion clinics will be in force from 31 October, as the government moves to bring in stronger safeguards for women accessing this vital health service. Safe access buffer zones will make it illegal for anyone to do anything that intentionally or recklessly influences someone’s decision to use abortion services, obstructs them, or causes harassment or distress to someone using or working at these premises. The law will apply within a 150 metre radius of the abortion service provider.  

Read more about this here.

Stakeholder campaigns

Meta launches Instagram for teens to address social media concerns

Meta on Tuesday 17^th launched Instagram Teen Accounts, a more limited experience for younger users of the platform, in what is the technology company’s latest effort to assuage concerns about the impact of social media on kids. Meta will automatically migrate all Instagram users under the age of 16 to the new service, which features built-in protections through settings controlled by their parents. The move is designed to address mounting criticism that social media can harm young people’s mental health, as well as put parents at ease about the kind of content their children are exposed to and who is able interact with them.

Read more about this here.

Upcoming campaigns

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