Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will take steps to issue guidelines to ensure that county days are principally used to celebrate historic counties rather than administrative areas of county councils.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
The Government attaches great importance to the history and traditions of this country. I am happy to confirm to my Hon. Friend that guidance for local authorities was published in 2019, which emphasises the significance of historic counties.
Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, in the context of proposed boundary changes, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen the representation of the historic English counties.
Answered by Kemi Badenoch - President of the Board of Trade
Historic counties are an important part of our history and traditions helping to instil community pride and strengthening long lasting ties that have bound our communities together.
Whilst the boundary changes we are proposing, which relate to establishing unitary councils in Cumbria, North Yorkshire, and Somerset, have no direct impact on historic counties, we are very alive to their significance, and so, for example, in Cumbria we are proposing that the two new unitary councils should be called the Cumberland Council and the Westmorland and Furness Council, reflecting their links with the historic past.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if will make an assessment of the potential merits of adding the Black Country Flag to those displayed on County Flags Day.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government attaches great importance to the history and traditions of this country and we recognise that the tapestry of our historic counties is one of the bonds that draws the nation together. The flying of the registered flags in Parliament Square to mark Historic County Flags Day is the centrepiece of this national celebration of the role of the historic counties. We have no plans to celebrate or raise in Parliament Square regional flags like those of the Black Country, though we recognise the historical significance of such areas and would welcome local partners celebrating them if they choose to do so.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of flying the flags of the Historic Counties for the full week in the lead up to Historic County Flags Day.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The Government attaches great importance to the history and traditions of this country and recognises that the tapestry of our historic counties is one of the bonds that draws the nation together. We remain committed to the celebration of historic counties. We are considering with colleagues across Government how best to repeat the 2019 display in Parliament Square to mark Historic County Flags Day in the week of the 23 July, so as to raise the profile of this national celebration.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 11 January 2021 to Questions 131200 and 131201, if he will ask Highways England to mark England’s historic county boundaries on the strategic roads network in line with the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Pursuant to the Answers to Questions and 131200 and 131201, the Department has no plans to ask Highways England to implement historic county boundary signs on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 11 January 2020 to Question 131200 on Road Signs and Markings: Cultural Heritage, what steps his Department is taking to implement the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019, on the motorway and trunk road network through Highways England.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Pursuant to the answer to Questions 127499, 127500 and 127501, the Department has no plans to ask Highways England to implement historic county boundary signs on the Strategic Road Network (SRN).
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answers of 14 December 2020 to Questions 127499, 127500 and 127501, what steps his Department is taking to support the implementation of the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Department for Transport has permitted the use of historic county boundary signs through the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2016. Guidance is provided to local authorities in DfT Circular 01/2016 and in Chapter 7 of the Traffic Signs Manual. Decisions on whether to place such signs are for local authorities.
DfT Circular 01/2016 is available at
The Traffic Signs Manual is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/traffic-signs-manual
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with (a) Ministers in the Department for Transport and (b) local authority leaders on road signs marking historic county boundaries in line with the Government's guidance on Celebrating the historic counties of England dated 16 July 2019.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The historic counties are an important element of our traditions which support the identity and cultures of many of our local communities. The non-statutory guidance of 16 July 2019 is designed to encourage a greater level of activity to celebrate the historic counties by setting out what local authorities can currently do in relation to these activities and referencing the relevant guidance and regulations, . The decision on whether to mark historic county boundaries on road signs is for each local highway authority, or, in the case of the Strategic Road Network, for Highways England, to consider.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether the traditional boundary of the County Palatine of Lancaster is extant; and what effect the Local Government Acts (a) 1888, (b) 1929 and (c) 1972 have on that County Palatine in relation to (i) Audenshaw, (ii) Denton, (ii) Reddish, (iv) Heaton Chapel and (v) Heaton Norris.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
The County Palatine of Lancaster is often seen as the historic county of Lancashire. The historic counties are an important element of our traditions which support the identity and cultures of many of our local communities. The government has been active in promoting the historic counties of our nation as a key element of our heritage and will continue to do so.
No legislation has specifically abolished historic counties, but they do not exist for the purposes of the administration of local government or ceremonial purposes, though historic, administrative and ceremonial boundaries may in some cases be coterminous. All of the areas mentioned in the question are historically within the County Palatine of Lancaster, and are now in the ceremonial county of Greater Manchester and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Stockport and Tameside, and within the area of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, for the delivery of their modern local services.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with local authorities on flying and promoting county flags on Historic County Flags day on 23 July 2020.
Answered by Simon Clarke
I am a huge supporter of our historic counties which are an integral part of local identity and belonging. Over the last year or more, we have been active in promoting the role of our historic counties in celebrating the history and traditions of our nation. We will use the opportunity presented by Historic County Flags Day on 23 July to raise their profile once more, but given the wider pressures resulting from the COVID-19 emergency, we envisage any celebrations this year at national and local level will be done virtually or via social media.