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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 10 June to Questions 11562 and 11563, if he will publish the (a) industry standard approach to specification and procurement of works, and (b) cost benchmarks established from comparable projects, that his Department uses when scrutinising managing agents' fees in applications to the Building Safety Fund.

It is the responsibility of the applicant to the Building Safety Fund to ensure that costs for eligible works under the Fund, including any management fees, are informed by an industry standard approach to specification and procurement of works. This requirement is set out in the Building Safety Fund Application Guidance available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/992252/BSF_Fund_Application_Guidance_.pdf

As set out in the answers to Questions UIN 11562 and UIN 11563, costs are benchmarked against comparable projects and higher than expected costs will be challenged and will be subject to further scrutiny, and the level of grant may be reduced. Costs benchmarks are commercially sensitive and so cannot be published.