In London, ensembles do not cover the cost of travel for non-London based musicians. Many of you incur significant travel expenses when coming to work with The English Concert (I did myself for many, many years so I am very aware of the challenge). This policy aims to alleviate some of the financial pressure but does not cover all costs. We need to be careful that we do not end up adding so much to our costs that suddenly we are unaffordable to presenters. In certain situations, particularly with presenters that have specific payment policies like the PROMS, we may not have any flexibility and may not be able to offer any contribution, although we would naturally flag this up well in advance.

Contributions will be made according to a banding system:

1. It will start for those based further than 50 miles from the centre of London or that incur travel expenses in excess of £50 per project.
2. From 40-80 miles, we would make a contribution of up to £50
3. From 80-150 miles, up to £70
4. From 150 miles upwards within the UK up to £90
5. International travel up to £150.

Additional conditions:

1. Contributions will be calculated for return travel. Single journeys will be eligible to receive half these amounts.
2. It does not apply for London commuting costs and/or fares.
3. Taxis, airport transfers, tolls, travel in London or any other form of travel other than those relating to the main journey are not part of this contribution.
4. The contribution will only be offered for petrol costs, second class travel or equivalent fares. Any other fare class will only be considered if it is cheaper than the second class fare.
5. Whenever there are various travel options we will only contribute towards the lowest reasonable fare available but you will be free to make alternative arrangements. ie if travelling by train were to be cheaper than flying, we would contribute towards a train journey. If there are various airlines that provide the same route, we will contribute towards the cheapest reasonable option.
6. It will only be offered if you come from your home base and return to your home base.
7. If you are connecting to work with a different ensemble or will be working in London with a different group, we will only be able to offer half the contribution.
8. Return from an international tour. We will try to fly you home after an international trip as long as there is not an increased cost to The English Concert. If there is, we will use half the contribution we offer and deduct the difference (if the cost is higher) from your fee.
9. You will need to arrange your travel well in advance to ensure TEC costs are kept as low as possible.
10. It will not be an automatic supplement. It will a capped contribution for which receipts need to be supplied.
11. For international travel, during peak time seasons or under exceptional circumstances, where you can demonstrably show that the cost of travel is significantly higher than the usual cost, you can request an additional contribution. The cost of your flight must be at least 60% higher than what you would have normally paid for the same journey under normal circumstances.

There may be further tweaking necessary and adjustments to the banding and/or the contributions offered (both, upwards or downwards) once we have a fuller understanding of how the policy is working. I appreciate in some cases this will not cover the full amount but I hope you appreciate this will represent a significant added cost but again, my main objective is to make a positive difference.