Education (Grants) (Music, Ballet and Choir Schools) (England) Regulations 2001

Part V Travel Grant

School travel expenditure qualifying for grants

19.  In this Part, “school travel expenditure” means, subject to paragraphs 21 to 24, the aggregate expenses incurred by or on behalf of a pupil holding an aided place at a school in respect of his journeys to and from the school—

(a) by public transport;

(b) by transport provided pursuant to arrangements which, at the request of the school, are for the time being approved by the Secretary of State; or

(c) by transport provided by a local education authority.

Amount and payment of travel grant

20.—(1) The amount of grant payable by schools pursuant to any of paragraphs 21 to 24 (“travel grant”) shall be determined in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) and may be paid on account in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(2) The amount, if any, of travel grant for a school year payable in the case of an aided pupil shall, subject to paragraphs 21 to 24, be determined as follows by reference to the school travel expenditure for that year in relation to which it is paid and the relevant income as regards the pupil:

(a) where the relevant income does not exceed £11,129, travel grant shall be an amount equal to that of the school travel expenditure to which it relates; and

(b) in any other case the school travel grant shall be of the amount, if any, by which the school travel expenditure to which it relates exceeds an amount (rounded down to the nearest multiple of £3) equal to one-twelfth of that part of the relevant income which exceeds £10,950.

(3) A school may, in the course of or immediately before a school year, make payments on account of travel grant which, it appears to them, will be payable for that year; but where payments on account are made then, within three months of the final determination of the amount (if any) of the grant any over-payment or under-payment of grant for the year in question shall be adjusted by payments between the parents and the school.

Travel grant—boarding pupils

21.—(1) This paragraph applies in the case of an aided pupil who is a boarder at a school (other than a weekly boarder).

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), the school shall, in respect of each school year, pay travel grant to the parents of an aided pupil attending the school in relation to school travel expenditure reasonably incurred in relation to journeys made by the pupil in that year to or from his home or to visit a parent or guardian or other relative.

(3) The school shall not pay travel grant in respect of more than 12 single journeys by an aided pupil, either to or from the school, in any school year, and in calculating the school travel expenditure:

(a) where a pupil’s expenses are in respect of journeys made by public transport and exceed the expenses that would have been incurred if advantage had been taken of available arrangements for reduced or concessionary fares, the excess shall be disregarded;

(b) where the pupil visits a place other than the pupil’s home (that is to say the place where the pupil normally resides when not at school), and his expenses exceed the amount which they would have been if the visit had been to his home, the excess shall be disregarded;

(c) where a visit is to a place outside the British Islands, so much of the expenses as are in respect of a journey between a port, hoverport, airport or Channel Tunnel terminal within the British Islands and that place shall be disregarded.

(4) In sub-paragraph (3)(c) “Channel Tunnel terminal” means any place where an aided pupil boards a train or bus which goes through the Channel Tunnel.

Travel grant—weekly boarding pupils

22.—(1) This paragraph applies in the case of an aided pupil who is a weekly boarder at a school.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), where an aided pupil’s walking distance between home and school exceeds 4.8 kilometres, the school shall, in respect of each school year, pay travel grant to the parents of the pupil in relation to school travel expenditure reasonably incurred in respect of journeys made by the pupil between home and school in that year.

(3) In calculating the school travel expenditure—

(a) where a pupil’s expenses are in respect of journeys in excess of 80 kilometres each way by such transport as is mentioned in paragraph 19, the school shall take into account only the following proportion of the expenses, that is the proportion that 80 kilometres bears to the length in kilometres of the journey in question; and

(b) where a pupil’s expenses are in respect of journeys by public transport and exceed the expenses that would have been incurred if advantage had been taken of available arrangements for season tickets or reduced or concessionary fares, the excess shall be disregarded.

Travel grant—day pupils

23.—(1) This paragraph applies in the case of an aided pupil who is a day pupil at a school.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3), where an aided pupil’s walking distance between home and school exceeds 4.8 kilometres the school shall, in respect of each school year, pay travel grant to the parents of the pupil in relation to school travel expenditure reasonably incurred in respect of journeys made by the pupil between home and school in that year.

(3) In calculating the school travel expenditure,

(a) where a pupil’s expenses are in respect of journeys in excess of 40 kilometres each way by such transport as is mentioned in paragraph 19, the school shall take into account only a proportion of the expenses, that is the proportion that 40 kilometres bears to the length in kilometres of the journey in question;

(b) where a pupil’s expenses are in respect of journeys by public transport and exceed the expenses that would have been incurred if advantage had been taken of available arrangements for season tickets or reduced or concessionary fares, the excess shall be disregarded.

Travel grant—visits to universities etc.

24.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), the school shall pay travel grant to the parents of an aided pupil in respect of school travel expenditure reasonably incurred in relation to journeys made by the pupil in the school year within the British Islands for the purpose of visiting an institution of further or higher education at the invitation of the institution with a view to being admitted there for the purpose of further or higher education.

(2) A school shall not pay grant in respect of more than three such journeys from the school or from the pupil’s home to such an institution and three journeys from an institution to the school or to the pupil’s home in any school year.