The Budget: What will Leicestershire councils pay attention to?

While business rates are set at a national level, it is local councils that send invoices to businesses and collect payments. Across Leicestershire, there are boroughs and boroughs that also have their own financial constraints.

These councils also make decisions about whether businesses are eligible to receive a business rates reduction.

City councils retain half of the money collected and will undoubtedly want that income to be maintained.

But for business owners like Nicki Worthington, who runs the Coal Bunker Cafe in Coalville, it’s time to reduce this tax.

“Business tariffs can be very damaging. There’s a lot of things coming out that people don’t see,” he said.

“People always assume that if you have your own business, you have a lot of money… and that’s not the case.”

His company also helps smaller independent traders with space and display cases within their cafe building, to keep costs to a minimum.

She says VAT and energy prices are other things the government needs to consider to help small businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector.

“It is necessary to analyze it in all areas,” he says.