'We're small business owners and everything is going up'

Business owners across Yorkshire have said that changes to business rates alongside rises in the minimum wage and National Insurance will have a significant impact on them.

One cafe owner said her rate payments had gone up by 48% and she would have to generate more income to "just stand still".

Another business said more support was needed for them and the government was just "taking and taking".

The government said it was reforming business rates to "back the high street" with a £4.3bn support package to limit bill rises.

Rebecca Cooke runs a cafe in Easingwold in North Yorkshire and said the changes would have a "huge impact".

"My valuation has gone up, my actual payments have gone up 48% this year," she said.

"Obviously we've got national minimum wage going up, which does make you think about recruitment."

Her concerns about the rises are mirrored by Kirsty Devine. She opened her own soft furnishing business in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, 11 months ago.

When she opened, her business rates were £95 a month.

"This year it's £175.43 a month, but that is with transitional adjustments," she said.

The reforms to business rates mean that the owners or tenants of larger commercial premises, such as warehouses, will pay more than those in smaller high street units.

Craig Dowie, managing director of The Crown Hotel in Bawtry, near Doncaster, said the rise in the minimum wage meant that the business had reduced the number of young people it employed for big events such as weddings.

He said it would not just affect employment and training opportunities, but would impact customers too.

"We've had to look at the size of the portions, the amount of staff, the times we are opening and how much we charge," he said.

"The guests will pay more, the portions will go down and the service will be a little bit slower."

Jade Cummings runs PB's play centre in Halifax and said when her business rate bill landed it had left her "worried and upset".

She said: "When we got the bill, it had gone from £570 - we had 40% relief - and it went to £890 a month."

She has since been given a discount but still has to find £100 extra every month.

"It's just all across the board, our wages, our National Insurance, our food prices. Everything is going up," she added.

A spokesperson for the government said: "We have the right economic plan - we're reforming business rates to back the high street with a £4.3bn support package to limit bills rises, alongside capping corporation tax at 25%, cutting red tape and taking action on the cost of living to boost the sector.

"We're also cutting the business rates tax rate by 5p for high street businesses, funded by higher bills for the top 1% most expensive properties – meaning many big online warehouses now pay a 33% higher rate than small high street premises."

For Kirsty Devine that support is not enough.

She said: "On the one hand they are saying 'support our high streets', but then on the other hand the reality is they are just taking and taking."

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