RETURN TO ANCIENT COUNTY BOUNDARIES (2)

That this House takes notes of the continued commitment and devotion shown by the people of the historic county of Rutland to their little county, despite its enforced incorporation within Leicestershire in 1974; welcomes the decision of the Secretary of State for the Environment to re-open this whole issue; believes that the most natural structure for the area would comprise a unitary authority for Leicester City within its existing boundaries, a unitary authority for Rutland, and a two-tier system for the rest of Leicestershire, involving the re-creation of Leicestershire County Council within its old boundaries and the retention of the district councils set up by the Local Government Act 1972; and looks forward to the day when the flag goes up at Catmose, Oakham, to celebrate the return of a unitary authority for Rutland, to be called, appropriately, Rutland County Council.