Epidural during labour in the UK

Hello ladies! I am French and 15 weeks pregnant with my first baby. I heard that in the uk,

pain relief or epidural are only administered when necessary. Is it true that hospitals ask you to stay at home as long as possible during labour so that when you show up, delivery can be done very quickly and without an epidural? Id like to hear your stories in order to level my expectations. In France, as soon as you are in labour you go to the hospital to get the epidural and wait around there until you’re dilated enough for the birth. Any one of you wished for an epidural but was not given one? If so what was the reason? Thank you 😊