Business Link to go by 2012
3rd Nov 2010
At Creation Agency we have worked with our customers in utilising the National Business Links networks as a route to small businesses for awareness and demand generation for many years, and this is due for a change. The government has just released its local growth White Paper, and said the £154m annual cost of running the support scheme for small businesses in England was "high" and the "generalist nature" of services has been "poorly targeted" at, for example, "so-called 'lifestyle businesses' with no aspiration to grow".
Adding that there are more "efficient, effective and targeted ways to use public money to provide the kinds of business improvement help that businesses need," the White Paper said a "greater prioritisation of government support is required, focusing only on those areas where it can really add value".
From April 2012, existing and budding en
trepreneurs will be able to access advice through an improved www.businesslink.gov.uk website and a national call centre. The government is also working with banks and business groups on creating a nationwide business mentoring scheme.
The Business Links are a regional programme that is currently managed by England's nine Regional Development Agencies which themselves have also been scrapped and are due to be replaced by new Local Enterprise Partnerships between local authorities and business groups.
We'll be watching with a insightful eye on how this approach develops, as small businesses are critical to the overall development of the nation and from a selfish point of view having access to a network of aspiring, entrepreneurial small businesses in the UK is critical to a great number of our clients.
...and we're a small business of course.
Original Story Source: www.businesszone.co.uk/
Published by
Jason Burrows, Managing Director
jason@creationagency.com, 07764 898000
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