Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a Licensing Hours Order to extend operating hours on a national basis for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance” in England and Wales. National licensing hours extensions provide many benefits including enabling local communities to come together to collectively celebrate important events, providing efficiencies to both businesses and local authorities, and saving businesses the cost of the temporary events fee in those cases. The national licensing extensions we have put in place for the men’s football World Cup have been welcomed by fans and hospitality businesses alike.

Licensing hours orders do not override locally applied licence conditions which ensure the licensing objectives are effectively upheld. Nor do they override planning rules and regulations which operate separately from the licensing regime as they cover different, albeit related, matters. While this means a small number of licensed premises may not be in scope of a licensing hours order, the Government is clear that these orders still provide significant benefits to many licensed premises. Any premises which is not in scope can apply for a Temporary Event Notice for a small fee of £21 if they wish to do so.

Decisions to extend licensing hours on a national basis are preceded by a consultation with respondents usually including representatives from the hospitality sector. Extensive discussions with the hospitality sector about the licensing regime also took place as part of the DBT-led Licensing Taskforce which published their report last autumn. This was followed by a Government call for evidence on the licensing regime which attracted over 2,000 responses.

Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a Licensing Hours Order to extend operating hours on a national basis for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance” in England and Wales. National licensing hours extensions provide many benefits including enabling local communities to come together to collectively celebrate important events, providing efficiencies to both businesses and local authorities, and saving businesses the cost of the temporary events fee in those cases. The national licensing extensions we have put in place for the men’s football World Cup have been welcomed by fans and hospitality businesses alike.

Licensing hours orders do not override locally applied licence conditions which ensure the licensing objectives are effectively upheld. Nor do they override planning rules and regulations which operate separately from the licensing regime as they cover different, albeit related, matters. While this means a small number of licensed premises may not be in scope of a licensing hours order, the Government is clear that these orders still provide significant benefits to many licensed premises. Any premises which is not in scope can apply for a Temporary Event Notice for a small fee of £21 if they wish to do so.

Decisions to extend licensing hours on a national basis are preceded by a consultation with respondents usually including representatives from the hospitality sector. Extensive discussions with the hospitality sector about the licensing regime also took place as part of the DBT-led Licensing Taskforce which published their report last autumn. This was followed by a Government call for evidence on the licensing regime which attracted over 2,000 responses.

Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a Licensing Hours Order to extend operating hours on a national basis for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance” in England and Wales. National licensing hours extensions provide many benefits including enabling local communities to come together to collectively celebrate important events, providing efficiencies to both businesses and local authorities, and saving businesses the cost of the temporary events fee in those cases. The national licensing extensions we have put in place for the men’s football World Cup have been welcomed by fans and hospitality businesses alike.

Licensing hours orders do not override locally applied licence conditions which ensure the licensing objectives are effectively upheld. Nor do they override planning rules and regulations which operate separately from the licensing regime as they cover different, albeit related, matters. While this means a small number of licensed premises may not be in scope of a licensing hours order, the Government is clear that these orders still provide significant benefits to many licensed premises. Any premises which is not in scope can apply for a Temporary Event Notice for a small fee of £21 if they wish to do so.

Decisions to extend licensing hours on a national basis are preceded by a consultation with respondents usually including representatives from the hospitality sector. Extensive discussions with the hospitality sector about the licensing regime also took place as part of the DBT-led Licensing Taskforce which published their report last autumn. This was followed by a Government call for evidence on the licensing regime which attracted over 2,000 responses.

Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a Licensing Hours Order to extend operating hours on a national basis for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance” in England and Wales. National licensing hours extensions provide many benefits including enabling local communities to come together to collectively celebrate important events, providing efficiencies to both businesses and local authorities, and saving businesses the cost of the temporary events fee in those cases. The national licensing extensions we have put in place for the men’s football World Cup have been welcomed by fans and hospitality businesses alike.

Licensing hours orders do not override locally applied licence conditions which ensure the licensing objectives are effectively upheld. Nor do they override planning rules and regulations which operate separately from the licensing regime as they cover different, albeit related, matters. While this means a small number of licensed premises may not be in scope of a licensing hours order, the Government is clear that these orders still provide significant benefits to many licensed premises. Any premises which is not in scope can apply for a Temporary Event Notice for a small fee of £21 if they wish to do so.

Decisions to extend licensing hours on a national basis are preceded by a consultation with respondents usually including representatives from the hospitality sector. Extensive discussions with the hospitality sector about the licensing regime also took place as part of the DBT-led Licensing Taskforce which published their report last autumn. This was followed by a Government call for evidence on the licensing regime which attracted over 2,000 responses.

Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 allows the Secretary of State to make a Licensing Hours Order to extend operating hours on a national basis for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance” in England and Wales. National licensing hours extensions provide many benefits including enabling local communities to come together to collectively celebrate important events, providing efficiencies to both businesses and local authorities, and saving businesses the cost of the temporary events fee in those cases. The national licensing extensions we have put in place for the men’s football World Cup have been welcomed by fans and hospitality businesses alike.

Licensing hours orders do not override locally applied licence conditions which ensure the licensing objectives are effectively upheld. Nor do they override planning rules and regulations which operate separately from the licensing regime as they cover different, albeit related, matters. While this means a small number of licensed premises may not be in scope of a licensing hours order, the Government is clear that these orders still provide significant benefits to many licensed premises. Any premises which is not in scope can apply for a Temporary Event Notice for a small fee of £21 if they wish to do so.

Decisions to extend licensing hours on a national basis are preceded by a consultation with respondents usually including representatives from the hospitality sector. Extensive discussions with the hospitality sector about the licensing regime also took place as part of the DBT-led Licensing Taskforce which published their report last autumn. This was followed by a Government call for evidence on the licensing regime which attracted over 2,000 responses.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed in February 2026 the sitting day allocations and funding envelope for His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service for the period 2025-26 to 2028-29, including high allocations for the First Tier Tribunals: Courts and Tribunals: Sitting Day Allocations - Hansard - UK Parliament.

The Ministry of Justice has and continues to work closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure that the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has the capacity to manage demand following commencement of the Renters’ Rights Act on 1 May 2026. This includes provision of sufficient sitting days to deal with increased case volumes.

There are currently 109 community diagnostic centres (CDCs) offering at least one diagnostic test, check or scan for 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

CDCs are a shining example of the Government shifting care out of hospitals and into the community, making life easier and more convenient for patients. With many services planned to be open 12 hours a day, seven days a week, people can fit appointments around their lives, not the other way around.

The Home Office does not collect information on police front desks.

This government is delivering fairer funding for local authorities, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, including public libraries provision.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for public library policy and the Libraries Improvement Fund. DCMS intends to publish a new English public library strategy later this year to emphasise and support their position at the heart of communities and their pivotal role in improving the lives of working people.

This government is delivering fairer funding for local authorities, targeting money where it is needed most through the first multi-year Settlement in a decade. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement will make available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities, including public libraries provision.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is responsible for public library policy and the Libraries Improvement Fund. DCMS intends to publish a new English public library strategy later this year to emphasise and support their position at the heart of communities and their pivotal role in improving the lives of working people.

The Government has not made any recent assessment of the impact of moving polling day to a Saturday on voter turnout.

The Government is committed to increasing democratic participation, as set out in its manifesto. As part of this work, we are preparing to pilot a range of flexible voting options at this May’s local elections, including opportunities for electors to cast their vote over the weekend alongside the traditional polling day. These pilots are designed to build a fuller understanding of how giving people greater choice in when and where they vote can support wider participation and strengthen the overall voting experience.

The Trust’s evaluation found that revised opening hours at Crawley Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre reduced the average time patients spend in the UTC by 17 minutes, with no significant impact on nearby emergency departments. Decisions on local service configuration are the responsibility of NHS commissioners. The Government has committed £250 million in the UEC Plan 25/26 to expand co-located urgent treatment centres alongside same day emergency care.