Business owners say streamlined Business Link is inadequate

Six in ten business owners think the new streamlined Business Link support service is inadequate, according to the results of a new survey.

Following the demise of regional Business Links, and amid concerns new Local Enterprise Partnerships are more strategic bodies than business service providers, the Forum of Private Business has surveyed its members about changes to the business support landscape.

The present support being offered by the new ‘streamlined´ and centralised Business Link was deemed inadequate to aid growth by 61 percent of the members surveyed – but the main reasons given included barriers such as red tape (20 percent) and tax (13 percent) as well as issues with the support agencies themselves.

Just 10 percent of members who took part in the Forum´s last Referendum survey of 2011 – published this week - felt that the new support structure will provide them with cost-effective support – and more than twice as many (21 percent) believe it will not.

Further, 30 percent of members consider support from Business Link to be irrelevant to their business, 40 percent said they had not required its support to date and 22 percent believe the public sector should not be involved in business support of the type provided by Business Link at all.

"It is probably true that the old Business Link services were underused and small firms do see value in some of the recent changes to public sector support, including the new website, but the removal of local advisers providing a face-to-face service has not been popular," said the Forum´s senior policy adviser Alex Jackman.

"It is important that a streamlined, centralised service does not mean reduced support, advice and guidance overall – particularly with LEPs set to operate more as strategic bodies – so quality control and effective monitoring is key.

"In addition to having a single point of contact covering all regulatory bodies in local authority areas, practical and valued support should come from organisations such as HMRC being prepared to treat small businesses with more understanding and respect, rather than continually wielding the stick."