Parliament has enacted the Licensing Hours Extensions Act 2026, which amends section 197 of the Licensing Act 2003 to change the procedure for licensing hours orders. The Act received Royal Assent on 12 February 2026, commenced immediately, and applies in England and Wales, as set out on legislation.gov.uk.
Under the change, licensing hours orders are now made by statutory instrument subject to the negative resolution procedure. In practice, a negative instrument takes effect when made and laid and stays in force unless either House annuls it, typically within a 40‑sitting‑day window provided for by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. It does not require prior approval debates in both Houses.
Technically, the Act removes paragraph (d) from section 197(3) of the 2003 Act, deletes the reference to that paragraph in section 197(4), and omits section 197(5). In the pre‑amendment text, paragraph (d) placed licensing hours orders in the affirmative category; their removal aligns them with the default negative route used for most secondary legislation under the Act.
Licensing hours orders allow the Secretary of State to provide a temporary, nationwide extension of permitted opening or alcohol sale hours on specified dates and times. For the limited duration stated in the order, the national provision sits alongside local premises conditions; once the period ends, normal local licensing arrangements continue to apply.
For ministers and Parliamentary business managers, the shift reduces scheduling pressure and the need to secure time for affirmative approval. It enables orders to be made and brought into effect more quickly, while remaining open to annulment motions and committee scrutiny once laid.
For licensing authorities, police and environmental health teams, operational planning will depend on the scope and timing of each instrument. Where a national extension is made, local enforcement and communications may need adjustment to reflect the temporary change in trading hours.
For operators, the amendment does not alter the four licensing objectives, conditions on individual premises licences, or the frameworks for temporary event notices and licence variations. It solely changes the Parliamentary scrutiny route for nationwide, time‑limited extensions.
The Act extends to England and Wales only and commenced on Royal Assent on 12 February 2026. Licensing systems in Scotland and Northern Ireland are set by separate statutes and are unaffected by this amendment.