Business Link

[eequals]

When I visited business link, every magazine, leaflet and guide provided in the waiting room were concerned with proposed EU measures for the environment and recycling (e.g. awards to the recyclers of the month). Not a word on enterprise, initiative or financing.

Further, I was told categorically that grants, which business link can advise on, are much more difficult, if not impossible to obtain if your new business is located in London and the South East rather than in the North of England.

Also when I asked exactly what the considerable number of staff in their offices actually did, I was told - 'Collect stastistics'.

This organisation is nothing more than a fig leaf to cover the fact that the Government doesn't understand the first thing about the pressures on small business - which as it happens is at the real sharp end of this country's economy.

Joe

[profitxchange]

Hi
Re your visit to BL
A lot of BL’s Govt funding is linked to promoting and delivering the Politician’s current flavour, probably the Environment and recycling.

To get its funding BL has to achieve performance targets, – just like your GP, and to show it is doing so it needs lots of people to gather analyse and report its performance. Hence the growth of admin staff in BL, which consumes lots of the funding.

Its worth noting that BL in London has had its funding progressively cut by some 2/3rds in recent years – how could you cope with a similar cut in your income?
The majority of BL’s frontline mentor/ advisers have left and established their own businesses again, so neutering BL’s ability to deliver anything meaningful. Those that remain with BL have targets to meet and so only choose businesses that can deliver on the required results.

The Govt wised up over a decade ago to the ineffectiveness of grants for start-ups and micro businesses. Throwing taxpayers money at businesses that have a 2 in 3 chance of never reaching profit will never give the taxpayer a return on their investment. I certainly resent my taxes being invested in such a high risk gamble.

As an ex BL mentor myself, I agree that BL has been pushed a long way off the aspirations of its original architect, Michael Heseltine.

Nevertheless, it can and does deliver – but not to start-ups and micro businesses which were never its target market.

Lastly, this forum is not and never will be the place to get things to change in BL. So I hope you have lodged a formal complaint to BL. That is the only way they can feedback to the politicians with hard facts from business to support their own frustrations.

Of course we need lots of admin people to compile analyse and report these findings.

[eequals]

I would have thought that the concept of business link would have been to encourage new enterprise. I agree that grants per se are not necessarily the way to go about this but that targetting resources to assist a new and therefore inexperienced start up should fit the criteria of any organisation such as BL. The fact that it has been freely admitted that grants are made to new businesses in some regions as opposed to others is an important issue.

Further take the example if a young person starting up in business, having one or more members of their family with strong practical experience. They would have a much better prospect of success than someone who didn't enjoy this. In my view BL's role should be to give this sort of support for those who are lacking it. This is what mentoring should be all about but is sorely lacking at present.

As to the point that someone has to compile, analyse and report information, this is surely what the Office of National Statistics is for, let alone in-house agencies in the likes of the Treasury.

Finally I have to say this is an entirely appropriate forum for discussing an organisation like Business Link. It is failing in its original purpose and that is an important matter for many of the members here.

Joe

[goldenstone11]

Hello, I have often heard the argument that privately funded research is suspect because the scientists who are employed by private firms have a profit motive, and that they are liable to give answers consistent with their bosses' goals. But isn't that also true of scientists who are funded by government grants? Are they not motivated by the grant money and liable to give answers consistent with the goals of the grantor?

[eequals]

Absolutely Goldenstone, which is why so many scientists who fund research through government grants (and that's a majority I suspect) toe the line on the CO2 factor where global warming is concerned.

This is why I am still suspicious of exactly what we are being told today.

Joe