MORE than six out of 10 small firms are worried that the services expected to plug the gap left by the demise of the regional Business Links is "inadequate" to support their growth.
That’s the finding of a survey of members by the Forum of Private Business (FPB), which revealed concerns about the “streamlined” Business Link service.
They were also worried that the new Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) that have been created are more strategic bodies than business service providers.
The previous face-to-face Business Link service has been replaced with a central website and call centre as part of Government efforts to cut costs. And, although 58% had not used the local service for long time, many were worried that it had disappeared.
Just 10% who took part in the FPB Referendum poll said they thought the new structure would provide them with cost-effective support, while 21% said it would not.
However, a large proportion also said they had not used the old-style Business Link before the changes were introduced. Four out of 10 said they had not yet required any support, while 30% believed it to be irrelevant, and almost a quarter – 22% – believed the public sector should not be involved in this type of business support at all.
FPB senior policy adviser Alex Jackman said: “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.
“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 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 consideration, rather than continually wielding the stick.”
There was some support for the new Business Link website, with praise for its advice on employment (30%), finance and grants (21%), starting a business (15%) and growing a business (12%).
But FPB respondents were less impressed with the new service’s advice on IT and e-commerce, tax, sales and marketing, intellectual property and innovation and public sector contracts.
And they said they would value contact with a trusted face-to-face adviser when they were starting up or when making changes to their business, such as employing their first member of staff.
