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, whether the Government is taking steps to protect the historic county status of (a) Essex and (b) other counties.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government attaches great importance to our country’s history and traditions and encourages recognition of our historic counties, often marked by local celebrations on county days. I write to local leaders to encourage and support these celebrations throughout the year. This year, there are 56 registered historic county flags across Great Britain, which includes the addition of three new flags for Banffshire, Berwickshire and Morayshire. My department proudly flies each registered county flag in Whitehall to mark county days, and this includes flying the flag for Essex.
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 he will make it his Department’s policy to reintroduce Lord Lieutenancies of the historic counties abolished upon the creation of Greater London in 1965.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The allocation of Lieutenancies to counties was set out in the 1997 Lieutenancies Act and there are currently no plans to amend it.
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. Whilst the Government shares your enthusiasm for promoting historic counties, it has no plans for any legislation on historic counties.
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.