Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance has been (a) requested from or (b) offered by his Department to South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils following the fire at their offices in Crowmarsh Gifford.

Following the fire at the council offices on 15 January local business continuity arrangements were immediately put into place. Telephone calls were made to Councillor John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, and Councillor Ian Hudspeth, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, on the day to offer support and no central government assistance was requested. I would like to pay tribute to Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service, and to neighbouring fire and rescue services that supported them, for their response to this incident, and to council officials who have maintained essential council services. Officials from Fire, Resilience and Emergencies Directorate have been in contact with Oxfordshire's Chief Fire Officer, Dave Etheridge.