As previously revealed in June, Business Link is on its way out, it is being scrapped and it was today confirmed it will be gone ‘by the end of 2012’. The £154m a year service which was lauded by some and loathed by others has been deemed ‘unfit for purpose’ by the government and will cease to exist.
Business Link courses have always divided opinion between users, dependent on the course and the person delivering it, there are usually a mix of results between useful business information delivered by skilled entrepreneurs, and people being left with more questions than before after being talked through convoluted basics by ‘snowy haired civil servants’.
Instead of Business Link and Regional Development Agencies, it has been announced that a series of ‘Local Enterprise Partnerships’ will be set up around the country. These partnerships will be collaborations between local authorities and businesses attempting to ‘balance the economy’ and boost local business without having to take orders from central government in London.
These partnerships have already been met with scepticism with some saying they doubt they will possess the ‘clout’ to make a real impact on local economy. As previous users of business link services in the past, we at dijitul will be very interested to see whether these LEP’s bring any real change and help to small local businesses – especially the confirmed nottinghamshire partnership.
In the meantime however, dijitul are always here to provide you with the best information and guidance possible, be it regarding web design, SEO, e-commerce or even business grants.
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