South Yorkshire café owner having 'sleepless nights' over rising energy bills
We've been speaking to John Dalby who runs Ruby's Café in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield ahead of the 'mini-budget' on Friday
Last updated 21st Sep 2022
It's thought businesses across South Yorkshire are 'struggling to plan for the long term' because of rising energy prices.
The Government's due to reveal how it intends to financially support sectors like hospitality later this week with a 'mini-budget' style announcement.
John Dalby runs Ruby's Café in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield.
His current contract with his energy supplier is set to expire in December:
"It's been a very stressful few weeks looking at quotes. You can't help but worry about your own business in these circumstances.
"You can't go from paying £3,000 a year for your gas and electric to £16,000 or £17,000 a year.
"You can't pass those kinds of costs on to people. People don't have that kind of money anyway.
"Everybody's feeling the squeeze, and I know there's a lot of different factors which are contributing to the price rise, but I just don't get why it is so high.
"Businesses need to be given a price cap, similar to the support which's been given to households with energy prices.
"Domestic households are capped for two years, and there's talk businesses are only going to be capped for six months, with a three-month review.
"So, we'll see what gets said on Friday. At the end of the day, there isn't an endless pot of money for businesses.
"Once it's gone, a lot of businesses will have no option but to close.
"We can't plan ahead really if we're only given assurances for up to six months. It's going to be very difficult, but we'll make it work one way or another."
The 'mini-budget' — or fiscal statement as it is officially known — will be the chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s first address to MPs about the government’s plans for the economy since his appointment to the role by Prime Minister Liz Truss.