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WRS participates in the national Food Hygiene Rating
Scheme. All catering premises and butchers’ shops
selling raw and ready to eat foods are rated but retail
premises and food manufacturers are not included in the
scheme. Premises in Wychavon (and all of Worcestershire)
can be checked at
The scheme awards ratings from Level 5 (very good)
to zero (urgent improvement necessary) to food
businesses that fall within the scheme. The rating is
given at routine food safety visits carried out by WRS
officers who are always happy to give advice on how
to improve a rating.
For enquiries about any of above services you can
contact WRS on 01905 822799 or via
Trader Register
WRS are also looking to recruit local businesses both
large and small to our Trader Register. This has been
set up by Trading Standards Officers to help consumers
find local, reliable traders based in the county to
carry out home improvements. It is not an approval
scheme but aims to reassure consumers by helping
them find a reliable trader. It allows traders who
take pride in doing a fair job at a fair price to be seen
to be different and is actively promoted by us for
the benefit of both consumers and businesses
across Worcestershire.
To join the Trader Register, companies must demonstrate
their commitment to fair and honest trading and good
customer service by agreeing to abide by the Trader
Register Code of Practice. In the event of a problem
arising, WRS offers a facilitation service to help
resolve issues.
Applying is simple and it is FREE to join. If you would
like an application pack to join the Trader Register
please contact Lorraine Boulton via
Alternatively you can apply via our website at
Revenues
Responsible for the administration and collection of
Business Rates payable on business rated properties
such as offices, shops and industrial units. Valuation
of businesses is the responsibility of the Valuations
Office (part of Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs).
• Various reliefs are available to businesses for
unoccupied or partly occupied properties, and for
businesses suffering hardship.
Empty property rates - After 3 months, the full
occupied business rate becomes due unless the
property is entitled to an industrial exemption. In
these cases the exemption expires after 6 months.
If a business has a low rateable value then the
ratepayer may be able to claim relief under the
small business rate relief scheme.
• Food shops, public houses, petrol filling stations,
Post Offices, and other types of business in rural
areas may also claim rate relief.
• Business ratepayers are invited annually to a
consultation meeting, where they have the opportunity
to ask questions about the Council’s annual budget
process for the forthcoming financial year.
For more detailed information about Business Rates
please see the Council’s website at
where business rates forms for
the various reliefs are also available, or contact the
Revenues Section on 01905 822755.
Small Business Rate Relief
The following rules apply up until 31st March 2014.
The rules applicable after 1st April 2014 are
unfortunately not available at the time of going to
press: In order to qualify for this relief the property
must be occupied and have a Rateable Value (RV)
of less than £18,000 (£26,000 in Greater London)
and you must complete an application form from the
Local Authority.
Also, if you have more than one property then the
RV of any other occupied property must be less than
£2,600 and the total aggregate amount of the RVs
must be less than the £18,000 limit. Unoccupied
properties are not taken into account.
Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR) has two elements.
Firstly, the bill for any property with a rateable value of
up to £18,000 is calculated on a lower multiplier (the
figure the Government sets each year by which Business
Rates bills are calculated) and secondly, depending on
your RV, a further discount may be awarded.
Eligible businesses with RVs below £6,000 currently
get 100% rate relief. This relief decreases on a sliding
scale of 1% for every £60 of rateable value over £6,000,
up to £11,999. If the RV is between £12,000 and
£17,999 your bill will still be reduced by use of the
lower multiplier. If your business is receiving Transitional
Relief (TR) then this will be applied before SBRR.
If your business qualifies for other types of relief such
as Charitable Relief or Mandatory Rural Rate Relief,
then you will get that type of relief and not Small
Business Rate Relief. If you are in any doubt then
please contact us to check.
You can get information about Business Rates from
Wychavon by visiting our Contact Centres in Evesham
or Droitwich, or the Civic Centre in Pershore. You can
also telephone 01905 822755 or by visiting our web
site at
You can also log on to the Valuation Office Agency site
at
or the Government’s own website at
r more information about how business
rates are calculated.
