 Mark Prisk announced, after several weeks of speculations about its future, that BusinessLink is to be shut down because “the regional Business Links have spent too much time signposting and not enough time actually advising,” According to the analysis of 46 government websites the current BusinessLink site http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/ is the most expensive at an annual cost of £35m or £2.15 per visitor. Business Link’s closure is part of the government’s decision that was announced in the emergency budget in June. England’s nine Regional Development Agencies are also to be abolished and replaced with Local Enterprise Partnerships that will be formed between local authorities and private companies. England’s nine Regional Development Agencies are also to be abolished and replaced with Local Enterprise Partnerships that will be formed between local authorities and private companies. The changes are due to be implemented after the publication of the ongoing review of BusinessLink services, due out in September, and to be completed by March 2012.The letter, sent by Business Secretary Vince Cable and Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to local authorities and business asking them to consider forming new local enterprise partnerships can be accessed at: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/regional-economic-development |
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We have found that the BusinessLink website very resourceful and useful and the free skills trainings offered relevant and very appropriate. Loosing them will mean we will lose the most used single source of legal and business information and training that we have been relying on for many years. I hope a similar website will continue to exist to meet the needs of both the business and Third Sector organisations.