Consultants accused of a conflict of interest in assessing companies to administer Home Information Packs

Two government consultants embroiled in a conflict of interest row relating to Home Information Packs have been suspended ahead of a potential National Audit Office inquiry.

Two men, named in the Daily Telegraph as Christopher Legrand and Richard Theobalds, are accused of a conflict of interest over assessing companies to administer the home inspector scheme. Both have been suspended temporarily after a formal complaint to the NAO by the RICS.

RICS has complained about the way in which the surveyors and valuers accreditation (SAVA) service became the first company to be allowed to regulate home inspectors. RICS also applied to regulate inspectors, and claims that Legrand and Theobalds should not have been allowed to sit on the panel which assessed SAVA鈥檚 case as both are former SAVA directors. However, it is understood that the men were not involved in the decision-making process itself.