The University is improving how it responds to emergency situations, in line with new Martyn’s Law requirements, aimed at strengthening the security of public events and venues.
Status page as a source of information
The University currently operates status.york.ac.uk to provide staff and students with real-time updates when IT Services, campus facilities or the Library may not be running as expected.
In the future, a new critical incident section will be added to this status page to help us manage real-time communications in the event of an incident.
The section will remain hidden during normal business operations and will only become visible if a critical incident is declared.
In the event of an incident, staff and students will be alerted through multiple communication channels, directing them to the status.york.ac.uk. This will be the single source of real-time information throughout an incident.
Live alerts across campus
A new speaker system is being installed across campus, to enable safety teams to broadcast quick, easy-to-understand voice directions to move people away from any identified danger.
We also plan to practice scheduled safety drills, frequently used across schools and educational settings. These are designed to guide students and staff to designated secure areas inside campus buildings during an emergency.
We will be communicating these practiced scheduled safety drills well in advance, to ensure everyone knows how to react, and using measures that align with the Government’s now-standard nationwide emergency alerts.
The speaker system and status page will be managed by staff in Campus Safety and Communications, in line with the University’s Major Incident Response procedures.
What is Martyn’s Law?
Martyn’s Law (officially known as the Terrorism Protection of Premises Act 2025) is UK legislation designed to improve security preparedness at public venues and events. The new law bridges a gap in UK security by placing a legal requirement on certain venues to take proportionate and specific steps to protect the public from terrorist threats.
It is named in tribute to Martyn Hett, one of the 22 victims killed in the May 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack.