Licensing Laws: Fylde
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of supporting businesses in Fylde constituency through the temporary relaxation of alcohol sales licencing during home nation matches in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The Government supports the hospitality industry and has already laid secondary legislation to ensure that the pubs and other licensed venues, as well as football fans, can enjoy extended opening hours for alcohol sales during the men’s football World Cup.
Following public consultation, and subject to Parliamentary approval, licensing hours will be extended from 11pm to 1am for kick-offs from 5pm up to 9pm, and from 11pm to 2am for kick-offs after 9pm up to 10pm for every knockout stage match where a home nation is playing (i.e. the round of 32, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, bronze medal match and final of the FIFA Men’s Football World Cup 2026). Matches involving a home nation which start before 5pm or after 10pm on a given day will not benefit from a national extension, however individual licensed on-trade venues can submit temporary event notices for a small fee to enable their venue to open for longer.
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