ESFA fee caps (10% of works)
The 10% consultant fee cap on CIF 2026-27 cases, what is in and out of scope, and where else ESFA limits fees on school capital.
What is in the cap
- Architecture / design consultancy.
- Mechanical and electrical engineering design.
- Structural and civil engineering design.
- Project management.
- Quantity surveying.
- CDM principal designer / principal contractor scope.
- Condition survey, asbestos survey, intrusive surveys necessary to the design.
- Energy modelling supporting Spec21 compliance[Spec21].
- Planning consultancy.
What is outside the cap
- Statutory planning application fees.
- Building control fees.
- BNG off-site units[BNG].
- Legal fees on land acquisition or contract drafting.
- Contractor preliminaries (these sit in works).
Evidencing the cap in the case
ESFA expects fee lines to be itemised and totalled, with the 10% calculation shown. Cases above the cap need a written justification (specialist condition surveys, unusual abnormal investigation, complex planning context). Repeat over-the-cap submissions risk weakening the trust's standing in the round.
Where else ESFA caps fees
SRP-procured schemes do not have the CIF cap because the fees are integrated into the CF25 contractor tender[CF25]. DFC small works are not fee-capped in the same way but ESFA expects value for money.