"Our leeway's gone" - Cleethorpes pub owner calls for autumn budget support
The Chancellor's autumn budget could include reduced or frozen business rates.
A pub owner in Cleethorpes who says he doesn't know if they will stay afloat another year has called on the government to help small businesses with rising costs ahead of the autumn budget.
Rishi Sunak has said he wants to cut taxes, but must be careful not to raise inflation in doing so. One possible feature of today's autumn budget could be freezing business rates.
Nathan Taylor, owner of Cleethorpes TapHouse & Kitchen says: "It appears on paper we're okay, but I know what the next few months hold and the money we would've had last year is very much different from what we've got this year in terms of having that extra bit of leeway - we haven't got it anymore, that leeway's gone."
With the possibility of further business rate increases in line with inflation, bills could rise next year - something many small businesses are not prepared for.
Nathan Taylor said: "We're uncertain: are we going to be here in the next 12 months? I don't know, that's the honest truth, I don't know what the energy bills or food costs are going to be."
"If they could freeze business rates for five years that would allow five years of pre-planning for businesses and would allow some sort of safety net."
The autumn budget is also expected to include cuts in benefit payments to people with mobility and mental health problems unless they are able to work from home, as part of their plans to reduce the government's welfare bill.