OK I understand the NPPL being valid after more than 24 month's. AIUI it can be valid for 2 years 11 months and 30 days....ish, but if the LAPL's rolling validity had run out, I would expect it to be a renewal and not an hour with an instructor.
With reference to the NPPL/LAPL there is no requirement to tick the box and pay 60 odd quid. The NPPL is a stand alone licence and not a UK PPL, which needs to be paid for. I know this as it happened to me. I now have 2 x NPPLs. Both with differing validitties, because I ticked the box and paid.