MP for Rutland and Stamford Alicia Kearns has secured an agreement with the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to look at potential solutions to protect Rutland's ceremonial status as part of future local government reorganisation discussions.

In a statement released today, Kearns said: "After explaining the unique risks posed to Rutland's ceremonial county status, the Deputy Prime Minister assured me she will look into our situation, which her officials had not alerted her to. She also agreed on the importance of protecting local identities and that the reforms to Local Councils were not intended to scrap the ceremonial status of counties, but that unintended consequences needed to be looked into further.

"A legislative vehicle must now be identified by the Government to protect our county status, I have suggested amending the Lieutenancies Act 1997 to explicitly include Rutland as a county for the purposes of this Act.

"I made clear to the Deputy Prime Minister that we are simply asking that she ensure our identity is not lost as collateral damage from wider reforms. She has committed to work with me on a solution, and I hope one can be agreed on in the near future."