Alicia Kearns MP demands new Ministers honour pledges to save Rutland's Ceremonial County status from being 'inadvertently lost' in re-organisation.
Urgent Call to Westminster: Rutland's Historic Identity Under Threat from Local Government Reforms
Alicia Kearns MP demands new Ministers honour pledges to save Ceremonial County status from being 'inadvertently lost' in re-organisation.
The future of Rutland's treasured Ceremonial County status hangs in the balance as the Government pushes ahead with Local Government Re-Organisation proposals. In a firm intervention, Alicia Kearns MP, Member of Parliament for Rutland and Stamford, has written to the newly appointed ministerial team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), demanding immediate assurances that previous commitments to protect the county's unique historical identity will be upheld.
The core of the crisis, as outlined in Alicia Kearns's letter to Secretary of State Steve Reed MP and Minister of State Alison McGovern MP, is a legislative anomaly. Rutland's ceremonial status is currently derived solely from its unitary status, which it gained in 1997. "It is not covered in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 as a Ceremonial County," Alicia Kearns writes. The danger is that if the Local Government Re-Organisation proceeds to merge Rutland with bordering district councils, the county will lose its unitary status, and its ceremonial status will be "inadvertently lost" as collateral damage.
The MP stresses that this is not merely a bureaucratic concern, but a matter of deep local pride. Rutland is a distinct area mentioned in the Domesday Book and has records of a Lord Lieutenant stretching back to 1559. "Rutlanders are rightly proud of their historic identity and do not want to see it erased," the letter states.
Alicia Kearns detailed a history of promises made by the Ministers' predecessors, including:
A commitment made by the previous Secretary of State during a phone call on 2nd April.
Similar commitments given by the ex-Minister of State in a meeting on 2nd August.
The overwhelming public sentiment expressed through a petition signed by 7,141 people—representing "one in six Rutlanders."
The commitment being reaffirmed in the House of Lords on 12th July.
Despite these pledges, Alicia Kearns notes she has "yet to receive the vital detail on how Rutland's Ceremonial County status will be preserved."
To resolve the looming threat, the MP has proposed a clear legislative solution. She asserts that a "legislative vehicle must now be identified by the Government to protect our county status, whether it be by taking forward my suggestion of amending the Lieutenancies Act 1997 to explicitly include Rutland as a county for the purposes of this Act or any other legislative vehicle."
Concluding her urgent plea, Alicia Kearns stated her determination to fight for the county's heritage: "I will continue to do all I can to ensure our identity is not lost as collateral damage from wider reforms." She is calling on the new ministerial team to immediately recommit to the promises and "share the practical steps the Government will take to ensure they are met."
