There has been a great deal of ill-informed talk recently about the requirement to pay for RM Musicians who support RMA events. While it is understood that in the past, payment has often not been required for these services, they are in fact subject to the Tri-Service Policy for the Service Bands and Military Musicians covered in JSP813. In this Policy, Financial Categories (FinCats) range from FinCat 1 – Core engagements paid for by the Public Purse to FinCat 5 – commercial engagements where the sponsor pays full costs to the MOD.
Rumor Control always gets “a reaction”…
The RMA is one of the RN Service Charities and engagements for it are considered FinCat 2 – Charitable and Ex-Service/Regimental Association events. As such full abatement may be granted for the capitation rates of RM Band personnel when supporting RMA events. However, Treasury Policy dictates that all marginal costs (transport, substance and insurance etc.) for FinCat 2s cannot be funded from the Public Purse and must be passed on to the sponsor.
Get a Sponsor like local pub, club or supermarket to provide a beer tent or two plus cover the “band costs”. Also, splash their advertising around and get a return on sales (plus, the band cost is a tax free gain for the sponsor)
It should be clearly understood that the RMA is not suddenly forcing its members and Branches to pay for RM Musicians to support RMA events: the RMA is as bound by JSP 813, which is being more rigorously applied under the present constraints in the Defence budget, as is the serving Corps. This is wholly appropriate: extrapolated across Defence, if military musical representation was provided to all commemorative events at no charge, this would accumulate “a considerable burden for the tax payer to bear“.
The last 9 words in this paragraph make me Twitch a little… (a lot really)
Hopefully now that with no more support for more than 2 rugrats, no benefits for 3 or 4 years for immegres`. All that has to be done now is fill the tunnel full of concrete, stop paying billions to the EU and other “Causes” thru Non Accountable Accounts and just then maybe (FinCats) can be re-assessed…
Lastly, the rumour about it now being necessary to pay for RM Buglers at the funerals of former RMs is unfounded. The provision of a Bugler at the funeral of a former RM is conditionally considered as a Financial Category 1 commitment, i.e. a core engagement paid for out of the public purse.
I thought we knew that anyway…
