The purpose of the Bill is to: establish new arrangements for airport security and implement the UK’s international obligations to combat terrorist acts at sea.

The main elements of the Bill are:

Implementing the recommendations of the 2006 Independent Review of Airport Policing, including:

• requiring the majority of airports in England, Wales & Scotland to agree a local airport security plan with their key stakeholders, based upon an agreed threat and risk analysis;

• allowing the policing element of this plan to be charged to the airport operator.

Ratifying in UK law the 2005 Protocols to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, by creating a number of new offences relating to committing acts of terrorism at sea, for example:

• using a ship to transport weapons of mass destruction or in any other manner that causes death or serious injury or damage;

• using a ship or fixed platform to discharge any explosive, radioactive material or Biological, Chemical, or Nuclear weapon or any other hazardous substance to cause death or injury; or using any of those substances against a ship or fixed platform;

• sheltering a person who has committed an offence under the Protocols on board ship.

Permitting enforcement officers (e.g. members of the Royal Navy):

• to board and detain ships where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the ship or a person on board the ship is involved in an offence under the Protocols;

• to search for and seize evidence and arrest persons suspected of relevant offences;
 
• to board ships that are suspected of being involved in acts of piracy.

The main benefits of the airport security provisions are:

• improved inter-agency co-operation in establishing airport security arrangements, with greater clarity of roles and responsibilities;

• a systematic, regular assessment of how threats to an airport are being mitigated;

• local stakeholders, including police, border agencies and other private sector parties, will become partners in the process of agreeing and delivering a security plan for their airport;

• greater confidence for all in airport security, both locally and nationally, as Airport Security Plans should enable more effective deployment of resources to mitigate threats to airports;

• a consistent funding process for dedicated, uniformed police activities at airports that treats all operators equally;

• police authorities will be reimbursed by airport operators for agreed policing costs, in turn benefiting local and national taxpayers.

The main benefits of the maritime security provisions are:

• enabling the UK to fulfil an international counter-terrorism obligat

The coroners’ section of the Bill has already been published in draft and subject to extensive consultation, including by the Justice Select Committee. The Government set out the key changes to these proposals, resulting from the consultation process, in March 2008.  The Government will be publishing shortly its response to the consultation on death certification policy and new clauses will be added to the Bill to reflect the agreed approach.

In addition to the proposals in the Bill, the Government is also:

• publishing guidance to assist airport security stakeholders in the process of threat assessment and security planning;
• investigating the possibility of developing bespoke national performance standards for airport policing.