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Useful information for premises and events

Extended hours for Home Nation matches

The Government are allowing venues that hold a premises Licence that permits on-sales of alcohol to extend such sales without needing to apply for a temporary event notice as detailed below.

When a home nation (England or Scotland) is playing, there will be a national extension to licensing hours:

  • from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am for kick-offs from 5:00 pm up to 9:00 pm
  • from 11:00 pm to 2:00 am for kick-offs after 9:00 pm up to 10:00 pm

but only for the following matches: 

  • round of 32
  • round of 16
  • quarter-finals
  • semi-finals
  • bronze medal match
  • final

The initial group matches are not included.

If no home nation is playing in any matches that otherwise qualify for the extension, the relaxation will not apply.

Matches starting before 5:00 pm or after 10:00 pm will not benefit from the licence extension.

For any matches that are not covered by the extension, an individual at licensed on-trade venues can give a Temporary Event Notice so that they can stay open longer.

This national extension will allow licensed premises in England and Wales that are already licensed to 11:00 pm, and subject to their existing licence conditions, to remain open for the sale and supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises and provision of late-night refreshment.

Any venue that is not normally licensed to 11:00 pm on the day of the match will not benefit from the extension and would need to apply for a TEN if it wishes to extend its licensed hours on that day.

BBPA – Advice for Licensed Premises showing FIFA World Cup football matches.

This advice is intended for licensed premises in England & Wales to provide helpful and concise guidance to ensure that licensees have busy and successful events over the course of the World Cup in 2026.

PDF Icon Advice for licensees showing FIFA World Cup football matches - pdf - 865 Kb

If you manage a licensed premises or licensed event, you will have legal duties as the Responsible Person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Key Responsibilities

  • Fire Risk Assessment - Regularly review and update your fire risk assessment.
  • Occupancy - Ensure that you know the fire safety occupancy limit of your premises or event.
  • Fire Precautions - Ensure alarms, extinguishers, emergency lighting, and escape routes are in place and maintained.
  • Emergency Planning - Have a clear evacuation plan and make sure staff know what to do.
  • Training - Provide staff with fire safety training and refresh it regularly.
  • Maintenance and Records - Keep logs of checks, drills and maintenance.

Important Points

  • Candles, sparklers, or pyrotechnics or anything with a naked flame - Take particular care when using these items and include them in your fire risk assessment. Avoid using indoor pyrotechnics indoors unless approved and managed safely with the correct control measures in place. We advise that any indoor fireworks or pyrotechnic products should be purchased from licensed retailers, classified as Category F1, and display the required CE or UKCA conformity markings.
  • Chimneys - Ensure they are kept clean and swept regularly, and this is documented as part of your fire risk assessment, with any works certified
  • Drapes, materials, soundproof foam - Ensure that these, or similar, if used within your premises, have the correct fire resistance, and this is documented in your fire risk assessment, with any certification kept.

There is more information on fire safety for businesses, including a fact sheet on Occupancy Calculations for Licensed Premises on the Gloucestershire County Council’s website Fire safety law and guidance for businesses.

Drink spiking is when someone puts drugs or alcohol into a person’s drink without their consent. It can include putting alcohol into a non-alcoholic drink, adding extra alcohol to an alcoholic drink or slipping prescription or illegal drugs into an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink. It can be difficult to tell whether a drink has been spiked, as substances used for spiking usually have no
taste, odour or colour.

Needle spiking is when someone injects a victim with a substance using a hypodermic needle (or other form of administration, such as a combi-pen).

National figures suggest that spiking has increased over the past 4 years LGA Guidance on Spiking.

Steps to prevent spiking could include:

  • Staff training on identifying risks of, and spotting spiking.
  • Staff training on how to support a person who is vulnerable due to the effects of drugs or alcohol.
  • Effective CCTV
  • Ability to provide a safe space within the venue for customers who are vulnerable due to the effects of alcohol or drugs.
  • Offering various anti-drink spiking products to customers.
  • Recording all potential spiking incidents and reporting spiking incidents to the Police immediately.

There is free training for hospitality staff and venues on spiking from the Home Office: Spiking Awareness Training - Red Snapper Learning

Ask for Angela is the national scheme that helps anyone who is feeling vulnerable on a night out to get the support they need. Staff at a night-time economy venue are trained to understand and respond to anyone who asks for Angela. This may include calling security, taking the person to a safe space or helping them leave the premises unnoticed.

West Oxfordshire District Council encourages adoption of the scheme by operators of bars, pubs and other night-time venues where people meet up. We also encourage adoption by operators of cafes, restaurants and other hospitality venues.

For information and training material see the Ask Angela website.

Martyn's Law is UK wide legislation that places a requirement on those responsible for certain publicly accessible locations to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures.

The Home Office have provide the following useful information:

See here for the Protect UK website which gives support to organisations to evaluate and manage the risk from terrorism. There are links to useful E-learning training on awareness and how to be prepared for a terrorist attack.

No business - including retailers, takeaways, food vendors or part of the hospitality industry - is permitted to sell or supply single-use plastic cutlery, balloon sticks, polystyrene cups or food containers in England.

This includes:

  • All types of single-use plastic - including biodegradable, compostable and recycled plastic
  • Items wholly or partly made from plastic - including items with a plastic coating or lining, plastic additives, and plastic as part of a material mix, such as using plastic to bond layers of non-plastic materials

Businesses can supply single-use plastic plates, bowls and trays if either of the following applies

  • You are supplying them to another business
  • The items are packaging, pre-filled or filled at the point of sale

Examples of this type of packaging include:

  • A pre-filled salad bowl or ready meal packaged in a tray
  • A salad bowl filled by the customer in store
  • A plate filled at the counter of an establishment selling ready-to-consume food, such as a takeaway, bakery, canteen or public house
  • A tray used to deliver food

For more information please visit Single-use plastics bans and restrictions - GOV.UK

Licence holders should consider applying the principles of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to minimise waste and potential littering issues. This could include:

  • Eliminating single use, throw away items, for example replacing single use cutlery, cups, plates or containers with reusable alternative
  • Encouraging patrons to bring their own reusable cups or providing them for purchase or deposit
  • Having a refuse and recycling plan to ensure that there are receptacles for customers to put rubbish and recyclables/reusables so they can be appropriately separated out to be recycled or reused

© West Oxfordshire District Council 2026