Rutland ceremonial county status is still completely unprotected says Rutland's MP.
Alicia Kearns met with the new local government minister this week and says although the Government hope it will be saved if councils merge, no progress has been made in achieving that. It comes after the minister wrote to the leader of Rutland County Council saying they didn't intend to remove ceremonial rights in the process after Gale Waller told Alison McGovern how important the Rutland name and county status was to residents. MP Alicia Kearns is calling for legislation to be amended to include Rutland. Something she says the government is refusing to do.
‘Look, nice words are nice words, but until we see a plan from the Government of how they will save our ceremony county status, I will not stop fighting. I had a meeting with the local government minister on Wednesday and that was one that was promised me over two months ago. Now at the meeting it was a little bit like Groundhog Day where the new minister had new officials and they all told me Rutland ceremony county status isn't at risk by local government reorganisation. We know that isn't true. I've been through these arguments and the department previously in writing confirmed to me. They accept that my argument is right. So I will be doing the work I need to do to show to the minister why Rutland’s ceremonial county status and actually the city status of two cities north are both at risk by reorganisation. What I won't accept is just sitting by as they suggest, waiting for reorganisation to happen, for us to lose our identity and then for them to look at solutions that may or may not be needed. I want commitments. I want delivery beforehand and that's why I'll be laying amendment in the Lords for the next few weeks for a vote to save our ceremonial county status’.
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