local authority

Gemma would like to see survivors rehoused quicker, with the help of a designated organisation that acts as a go-between with police and local authority housing services.

Pupils are to be offered places at other schools within walking distance, the local authority said.

However, it says the future of supported housing is now at risk following "years of funding cuts" and that local authorities have now been forced to "decommission vital services".

The local authority had installed only gender neutral toilets at the new Earlston Primary School, which recently opened.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We provided consular assistance to British nationals and their families and we remain in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Laos."