Business Link’s future is shrouded in uncertainty after the new minister for small businesses promised to examine Business Link's regional services "very carefully".
While in Opposition, Mark Prisk had pledged to scrap regional Business Links because they were "failing in their task". But he sought to reassure the business community, stressing that, while costs had to be cut, he still wanted to expand the availability of face-to-face support.
In an interview with the Times, he said: "I am keen to make sure that the intervention Government offers is a modern service and that means a strong emphasis on it being online, so that it is accessible on every business person's handheld and desktop computer."
Mick Spain, director of Great Guns Marketing, believes that Prisk would be unwise to scrap Business Link offices.
“Small businesses need to be reassured that they will not lose the valuable help they receive from organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce or Business Link,” he says. “These organisations are a vital source of advice and mentoring for us, along with the training and funding they provide.
“If they were scrapped in order to cut the deficit it could be catastrophic for many companies. Larger businesses will be fine as they are able to use privately hired services to offer the counsel they require, but small businesses will be the hardest hit.
Claire Sheehan, founder of Infinite Safety Ltd, agrees about the importance of business support for fledgling businesses. “I live in Blackpool and there is a business mentor scheme in place,” she says. “It is free of charge to both parties and provides someone to run ideas by and get advice from.
“Business Link is also invaluable with their fair approach to grant funding. If the government keeps these schemes small businesses can continue to thrive.”
Concern about the continuing availability of business support and training schemes were among the chief concerns of SMEs when BusinessWings canvassed their fears about the impact of public spending on businesses.
The MP for Hertford and Stortford also revealed that he intended to a kind of work experience by spending five days working with five companies over the coming weeks. Prisk, who can say he understands business owners’ concerns more credibly than most given he ran a chartered surveying firm for 10 years before joining parliament in 2001, doesn’t want to be seen as a remote bureaucrat handing down diktats from his Whitehall base.
DIY Kyoto, an east London manufacturer of energy monitors, will host Prisk first later on this month. “We are very excited,” says co-foundr Jon Sawdon Smith. “We need to work out how he can be best utilised. We are wondering whether he has any language skills and whether he has got his own laptop.
“He could take things to the Post Office. We might ask him once to make the tea, to test his tea-making skills.
“It is an opportunity for us to explain to him the ins and outs of a small business and the struggles we face.”
