Business Link to be Scrapped by Government

Hot on the heals that the regional development agencies are to be scrapped comes the news that Business Link is to go the same way.

In the detail of the emergency budget documents the 8 regional development agencies that employ 3,400 would be closed and the budget of a whopping £270 million would be cut as part of the overall government savings plan. The RDAs would be replaced by local enterprise partnerships, details of which have not been announced. Now Mark Brisk the business and enterprise minister has told the online small business magazine “Real Business” that Business Link would also be shut down.

Business Link to go as well – but the website continues

He said that as part of the winding down process of the RDAs that they would also be winding down the regional Business Link contracts.

It is thought that the online web service would be continued to be state funded and wanted a privately funded partnership for the face to face advice as a “21st century approach to business support” and recent research showed just how much government websites cost. The total cost of developing the Business Link website is a mind blowing £35 million which attracts around 1.6 million visitors a month equating to £2.15 per visitor.

During the budget the coalition government spelled out clearly that they wanted a private business economic recovery with the rates of both corporation tax and small business tax falling over the coming years. New businesses of course need real support and although the web can provide a lot of that many new business people do need some form of networking presence with like minded individuals to take them to the next level and may not have the funds to invest into expensive consultants who may not be able to help them in any case.

Most people don’t actually turn to the government for advice when starting or running their businesses in any case and the vast majority don’t actually know that perhaps Business Link advisers exist or where to contact them. We hear all the time of good reports as well as bad reports of trying to get appointments and about the quality of the advice provided.

So if you have used Business Link in the past what do you think of its passing ? Will the private sector be able to provide a better response to people that need help not only starting their business but helping it perform especially in these current tough economic conditions ? Over to you.. is this a good idea for Business Link to be scrapped together with the regional development agencies or not ?

Posted in Business | 6 Comments »

6 Comments - have your say

1. Mike Morrison Says:

   Business Link, when at its best did help many organizations to grow. We must remember its original purpose was to develop trust in business to value the contribution of external people and to encourage growth by learning from others.

   In recent years BL has moved away from established businesses towards startup and very small businesses as well as stopping giving advice (from experienced business people) and started sign posting. Sign posting adds little or no value to business.

   The gap will easily be taken up by the social economy providing support to startup, and the private sector to established businesses.

   Is the private sector ready to meet the needs of SMEs… yes!

2. Paul Simister Says:

   I tried the Business Link when I first started as a self employed consultant in 1995 and I must admit I wasn’t impressed. The impression from clients is that some advisors can be good but generally there is a mismatch between government thinking (embodied by people who are employed by government bodies) and small business thinking.

   Later I came to see Business Links as distorting competition amongst private advisory firms.

3. Paul Says:

   I’m happy to see a move back to smaller, regional networks for this type of business advice and support (I agree, simply signposting is of little value in these days of google – information can be quickly and easily found online).

   I think the website is one of the strong points of the service offered by Business Link and am pleased to see it retained under future government plans but am astounded at the cost.

   I also think there is definitely a role for business advice but whether it should be administered via one large publicly funded organisation (with services that became very inconsistent across different regions from my experience) is another question.

4. Anne Currie Says:

   There’s no doubt that Business Link have lessened their credibility by spending £35M developing a website that a commercial company would have completed for a small fraction of that budget.

   My borough (Enfield) have been using a private firm for start-up advice to good effect.

5. Karl Craig-West Says:

   This is a real shame. In my experience Business Link provided some very valuable resources and were a great place to find advice and support. Even if they were unable to provide some of this themselves they could at least point you in the right direction.

   Having said that, they’d been slated for giving patchy advice at times and also for employing business advisers who had little or no experience of what it’s like to run a business. So it could be a bit hit and miss as to whether you’d get a useful adviser.

   Still, let’s hope that the brand isn’t lost and that something useful comes along.

6. Public Liability Says:

   I have mixed feelings about the Business Link being closed down – it’s largely a free guidance service for small businesses and new startups.

   Let’s face it – who needs help more? Established, larger firms or small businesses looking to grow.

   The private sector, to a limited extent may be able to meet the needs of small businesses, however, at what cost?

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