County Update
County Meeting
Worcestershire members attended a virtual meeting on Monday to get an update on Family Farm Tax. County Chairman Oliver Surman and Council Delegate James Appleby discussed the debate that had happened over both days of the recent NFU Council meeting. 皇家华人position was decided at Council, with the majority of Council members being in favour. It was decided to suggest members donate their pre-loved toy tractors to create a visual display on the steps of the Treasury on 25th February, ahead of NFU Conference to represent all the children who could be robbed of their inheritance. These will then be donated to children鈥檚 charities
Malvern Hills District Council Meeting
There was a lively debate at Malvern Hills District Council this week around writing to the Government to raise the threshold for APR and BPR to 拢5 million. After much discussion, a new motion was proposed removing the 拢5 million threshold. But chair and CEO of Council will write to Government asking them to think again on IHT.聽 皇家华人had attended the meeting in support of the ambition and asked members across all political parties to work together on this.
The full proposal agreed by the Committee was as follows:
鈥淓xecutive Committee instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Government on behalf of the Council聽to ask it to think again about the impact that the proposed inheritance tax changes will have on small and medium sized farms, and that it finds another way to target institutional and private landowners who buy farmland seeking to shelter their wealth from taxation that does not penalise small and medium sized farms, and that Executive Committee commits to work with our existing Rural Community Builder, members, NFU and other organisations to consult on the future of the role and explore other ways to provide support to farmers and rural communities.鈥�
Worcestershire鈥檚 King鈥檚 Awards for Enterprise Showcase
Join the Worcestershire Lieutenancy for an inspiring evening uncovering how your business can achieve national recognition with the King鈥檚 Awards for Enterprise.
Hear from Past Winners: Gain invaluable insights as previous recipients share their success stories and winning formulas.
Discover the Benefits: Learn about the many advantages of winning the UK鈥檚 highest honour for business excellence.
Ask Your Questions: Get answers from our panel to help you navigate your application journey.
Date
13 March 2025
Venue & Timings
4pm - 6pm at DRPG, Ikon Estate, Droitwich Rd, Hartlebury, DY10 4EU
Worcestershire鈥檚 most successful businesses - those genuinely interested in entering the聽King鈥檚 Awards for Enterprise聽and who believe they meet the criteria 鈥� are invited to join the Worcestershire Lieutenancy for this exclusive and inspirational event.
Learn more about the criteria here:
Bookings
Reserve your place here
Spaces are limited.
Meeting with Robbie Moore
NFU Worcestershire have secured a meeting with Robbie Moore, the is the shadow DEFRA minister.
Date
15 March 2025
Venue & Timings
1pm 鈥� venue to be confirmed via Emma Hamer, Worcestershire County Adviser. Please let Emma know and she can give you further details. [email protected] or call 07469 084691
Green Futures | 13 & 19 March
Green Futures, our annual online meetings are back for 2025 with two topical events.
This year's Green Futures will feature the latest updates for farmers relating to schemes, grants and policy changes.聽
For more information and to register click here
The Big Farm Tea Break
Date
24 - 30 March 2025
Spring is the time of year on a farm when it seems everywhere you look there is a job waiting. Lambing, calving and tractor work all add to the pressure, it鈥檚 easy to feel there is no time to breathe.
Due to this pressure, we miss out on visits to the local shops, markets, Young Farmers or the pub. Those communities we are part of are still there and keen to always be there for you.
It鈥檚 amazing how stopping for a conversation puts everything into perspective for you and people around you.
So, during the Big Farm Tea Break, let鈥檚 all come together as a community.
Lynda and Andy wish they could have had the chance to say the right words at the right time.聽 They can鈥檛 but you can.
Please share your photos and #Lens Light
No one in the rural community should feel isolated or alone.
Farm for the Future 鈥� Royal Countryside Fund
Do you want help navigating agricultural policy changes including help with understanding ELMs and SFI (Sustainable Farming Incentive)?
If you鈥檙e an owner-occupied or tenant farm in England that received BPS, The Royal Countryside Fund鈥檚 Farm for the Future programme is in its final year, offering a last chance for free support which includes a 1-2-1 session with a consultant to talk about your farm.
Its online workshops can be joined from the comfort of your own home via Zoom to help you and your farm business navigate policy changes and become more resilient and sustainable.
To find out more and sign up to the online group, contact Christina Hutchings via email [email protected] or call 07715 353 546 or visit
Be vigilant of scam callers
If you receive a call that looks like it is from NFU Headquarters and are unsure then please hang up, do not pass on any personal details.
You can contact NFU CallFirst on 0370 845 8458 to check if we are doing any calls or promotions.
New rounds of funding secured for Worcestershire
I am really pleased to announce we have finally received confirmation of a further 拢33 million, 1-year extension of the Rural England Prosperity Fund. Wychavon and Malvern Hills District Councils will get a proportion of this.
The REPF will continue to provide capital funding to:鈥�
- support new and existing rural businesses to develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams.鈥��
- support new and improved community infrastructure that provide essential community services and assets for local people and businesses to benefit the local economy.鈥�
While we have been campaigning for a longer-term round of the REPF, the announcement today is still very welcome, as it does seem to be a single year top-up, and Defra have made it clear that they intend any future rounds from this point to be 3鈥�4-year rounds, which is in line with our asks. We鈥檙e told this is a top-up to provide as much stability as possible in advance of wider local funding reforms announced in the Autumn Statement.聽聽Read the full Gov press release here
FiPL Programme Extended
There will be a further round of Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) funding which will be available for members farming in and around the Malvern Hills National Landscape, formerly the AONB. You can read more here:
Cyber Crime
The Midlands NFU held an online member meeting with WMRCCU in autumn 2023, the opportunity to register with them is still available, this is aimed to improve your business鈥檚 cyber security.
With membership at the WMRCCU, you will receive regular tips and guidance on how to firm up your business鈥檚 cyber security.聽
Register to become a member (for free) today at聽
Do you want financial support to upskill your staff?
SkillsBoost Worcestershire is a new programme to help you with the costs of upskilling and training YOUR employees.
In today鈥檚 competitive landscape, the requirement for enhanced skills and training poses a significant hurdle for many businesses, not just in Worcestershire but nationwide. Recognising this challenge, Worcestershire鈥檚 District Councils working with the County Council, has rolled out an innovative programme, designed to make training more accessible and affordable.
You can claim back 50% of the training costs, up to 拢6,000, for your Worcestershire based employees. This means that you can upskill or redeploy your employees to maximise their effectiveness.
Businesses of any size and sector are eligible for the programme as long as the employees they are looking to upskill or retrain reside in Worcestershire.
Funding for the SkillsBoost programme is limited on a first come first served basis and is only available from Tuesday 2 April 2024 until 31 March 2025.
To find out more about SkillsBoost and start your application, contact the Worcestershire Growth Hub team via their or call 01905 677888.
Email 鈥� [email protected]
SkillsBoost is funded via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, distributed via all the District Councils in Worcestershire and delivered in partnership between Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire Growth Hub.
Securing water for your businesses, resilience planning for the future meeting
Water Resources West (WRW) are planning for the future and would like to work with the sector to ensure water is available for agricultural use. WRW are keen to promote the development of Water Abstraction Groups, bringing agricultural abstractors together to navigate local water challenges.
Over 30 members attended the meeting to hear about the work of WRW and the support available for farmers interested in forming Water Abstraction Groups in Worcestershire. All were keen to get involved to help influence the agricultural elements of regional water resources planning into the future. It has been decided that we will form an WAG 鈥� a Water Abstraction Group for the Middle Severn and the Avon in Worcestershire so that members can collaborate to ensure a continued supply of water for their businesses in the future. If you were unable to attend, but would be interested in joining the Worcestershire WAG, please let County Adviser Emma Hamer know [email protected] or 07469 084691
Access Business Support to help your business
Worcestershire farmers and growers are being encouraged to engage with the Worcestershire Growth Hub to find out more about the support available for organisations. There is a variety of new business support, funding and grants available to help organisations across Worcestershire.
Local businesses are being encouraged to contact the Worcestershire Growth Hub team to find out how their growth could be supported. There is support available for businesses looking to upskill or train their staff, businesses looking to access specialist expert advice, funding for growth ambitions and much more.
Alongside this, organisations can also find out about all of the upcoming business support events via the Worcestershire Growth Hub鈥檚 events calendar. This events page pulls all of the available business support events being delivered in Worcestershire together into one place, regardless of the organiser, location or style of event. To contact the Worcestershire Growth Hub team: Call 鈥� 01905 677888 or email [email protected]
Worcestershire RABI Quiz
Save the Date.
We are working on the questions to the Worcestershire RABI quiz and have some great rounds already planned. Last year we raised 拢1300 for RABI - let's see if we can do that again this year.
Date
10 April 2025
Venue & Timings
TBC at Worcestershire YFC Centre, Shires Farm, Hawford.
Cost
Teams of 6. 拢10 per person. Snacks available to buy. Bring your own drinks
Booking
Reserve your team's place by contacting Kate Jones at [email protected] or Emma Hamer at [email protected]
Can Worcestershire win the champion title back from Warwickshire this year?????
Do you manage a Local Wildlife Site?
Help with carrying out surveys, looking at SFI options, and providing support with evidence for enhanced stewardship options could be available.
Your County Adviser, Emma Hamer met with聽聽this week to try to find a way for them to work more closely with farmers. Many of our members will have a local wildlife site on their farms -there around 537 sites covering 9,274ha in the County. This is 5% of Worcestershire and represents a significant proportion of the county鈥檚 best natural habitats.
Local Wildlife Sites could be owned and managed by anyone including private individuals, businesses, organisations and public bodies. In addition to Local Wildlife Site status being an acknowledgement of the positive long-term management of a site and its substantive value for wildlife, having a site listed as a Local Wildlife Site can also provide landowners with:
- Access to professional support for botanical survey and habitat management advice
- Enhanced access to environmental grants and green finance options
- Opportunities to diversify farming enterprises
It is also worth noting that a Local Wildlife Site listing does not grant any right of public access to land, does not justify a statutory designation and does not directly impose legal obligations on a landowner or directly affect current agricultural activity.
If you think you may own or manage a Local Wildlife Site then we would love to hear from you and see how we may help. You can reach the Worcestershire Local Wildlife Sites Partnership by sending them an email at [email protected]
Have Your Say on Mobile Connectivity in Worcestershire
Is your mobile signal letting your business down? Over 800 people have voiced their concerns already, but we need more feedback, especially from businesses. Despite Ofcom data suggesting strong outdoor coverage, many report disruptions to calls, maps, banking, and more.
Some even note a decline in service over the past year.
We鈥檙e collaborating with mobile operators to address problem areas, and your input is vital. Share your experiences by taking our short survey to help us target improvements where they鈥檙e needed most:
Bromsgrove MP Bradley Thomas launches an IHT survey
Bradley Thomas, MP for Bromsgrove and the villages is keen to conduct a survey of farmers in the constituency so he can make the Government, and constituents, aware of the true impact of the Family Farm Tax. He鈥檒l use the results gathered in Parliament as well as on social media and in the press. He wants to be able to say:
X number of farmers have been impacted by the Government鈥檚 changes
X farmers are selling their farm/land as a result
X farmers can鈥檛 afford the inheritance tax bill
Please complete the survey here: .
Calling all business leaders
Are you ready to tackle your business challenges head-on and take your business to the next level?
Worcestershire County Council and Worcestershire Growth Hub would like to create a programme of free training for Worcestershire businesses. In order to do this, we need your help. Share your insights on your top training needs, how you'd like training be delivered and how you would like to receive support updates.
Your feedback is crucial in shaping a programme which truly benefits you!
Complete our to help shape a brighter future for your business!