§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the cost to public funds of business links in each year since they came into being. [42262]
§ Mr. PagePublic expenditure on the development of business links is mainly from the DTI's business link pump-priming budget. Expenditure from that budget in 1993–94 and 1994–95 was £1.14 million and £13.1 million respectively. The pump-priming budget for 1995–96 is £38.5 million.
The Department also contributes to the cost of local business support services which are being delivered through business links as they are set up. The budget for these services in 1995–96 is £63.9 million.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will list for each business links office(a) when it opened, (b) how many small businesses with (i) 0 to nine employees, (ii) 10 to 49 employees, (iii) 50 to 99 employees and (iv) 100 to 499 employees it assisted in the last year, (c) what its cost was in the last year to the public purse and (d) what percentage of businesses which used the service were charged for it. [42261]
§ Mr. PageThe list of business links and their opening dates is shown. Individual business link information relating to the size banding of company, cost to the public purse and percentage of businesses charged for services is not available. This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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Table of open business links Business link outlets Opening date Leicester September 1993 Birmingham October 1993 Congleton December 1993 Macclesfield January 1994 St. Albans February 1994 North Tyneside 30 March 1994 South Tyneside — Newcastle — Gateshead 1 — Gateshead 2 — Halton (Widnes) 5April 1994 Hereford 5 April 1994 Worcester — Malvern — Leominster — Doncaster 18 April 1994 Manchester 3 May 1994 Trafford Park — Tameside — Barnsley 3 May 1994 Salford 9 May 1994 Dorset (Poole) 19 May 1994 Crewe and Nantwich 23 May 1994 Shropshire (Telford) 31 May 1994 West Cornwall (Redruth) 31 May 1994 Pershore 13 June 1994 Coalville 8 June 1994 Hinckley 14 June 1994 Metropolitan Wigan 14 June 1994 Thames Valley (Reading) 28 June 1994 893W
Table of open business links Business link outlets Opening date Ross on Wye 30 June 1994 Lincoln 1 July 1994 Wirral (Birkenhead) 11 July 1994 Southern Derbyshire (Derby) 1 August 1994 Swadlincote 31 August 1994 Derby Inner City 5 September 1994 East Manchester 12 September 1994 Walsall 12 September 1994 Slough 21 September 1994 Aylesbury 30 September 1994 Chester and Ellesmere Port (Chester) 26 September 1994 Dudley 30 September 1994 Gainsborough 30 September 1994 Boston — Skegness — Grantham — Spalding — Sleaford — Louth — Sunderland 31 October 1994 Loughborough 11 November 1994 Gloucester (Cheltenham) 28 November 1994 Chester and Wirral (Hoole Bridge) 28 November 1994 Chester and Wirral (South Wirral) — Rutland 28 November 1994 Central Devon (Exeter) 5 December 1994 Merseyside (Liverpool 1) 5 December 1994 Merseyside (Mount Pleasant) — Merseyside (Knowsley) 19 December 1994 Merseyside (Bootle) — Merseyside (Liverpool 2) — North Dorset 19 December 1994 Weymouth — Hertfordshire (Letchworth) 19 December 1994 Melton Mowbray 3 January 1995 Market Harborough — Isle of Wight (Newport) 3 January 1995 Merseyside (Southport) 3 January 1995 Oswestry 31 January 1995 Brighouse 20 February 1995 Huddersfield — Batley — Halifax March 1995 Sandwell 10 April 1995 Middlesbrough 10 April 1995 Derwentside 10 April 1995 Chester le street — Teesdale — Durham City (1) — Durham City (2) — East Durham — Sedgefield — Wearvalley (1) — Wearvalley (2) — Coventry 10 April 1995 Nuneaton — Leamington Spa 10 April 1995 Stratford upon Avon — Rotherham 19 April 1995 Hexham 1 May 1995 Berwick — Blyth — Ashington — Alnwick — Furness 1 May 1995 Carlisle — Workington — Whitehaven — Kendal — Bristol (hub) 9 May 1995 St. Helens 9 May 1995 Welwyn/Hatfield 9 May 1995 East Cornwall 2 June 1995
Table of open business links Business link outlets Opening date Bedford Jun 1995 Luton — Stevenage Jun 1995 Bath 3 July 1995 Weston super Mare — Wansdyke — Cannock 17 July 1995 S. Devon: Newton Abbot 17 July 1995 Solihull 31 July 1995 Wyre Forest 31 July 1995 Craven Arms 1 August 1995 Stafford 17 August 1995 Frome 14 August 1995 Rugby 14 August 1995 Burton on Trent 21 August 1995 Rochdale 29 August 1995 Lichfield 4 September 1995 Redditch/Bromsgrove 4 September 1995 Bridgwater 5 September 1995 Tamworth 11 September 1995 North Devon 11 September 1995 Leek 18 September 1995 Hull 18 September 1995 Sheffield 19 September 1995 SW Herts Centre (Watford) 25 September 1995 Chesterfield 29 September 1995 Ilkeston 29 September 1995 Ripley 2 October 1995 Leeds 2 October 1995 Central Milton Keynes 2 October 1995 Stoke 2 October 1995 West Mailing 2 October 1995 Wolverhampton 2 October 1995 Bolsover 2 October 1995 Bake well 2 October 1995 Minehead 2 October 1995 Wakefield 16 October 1995 Castleford — Nottingham City 23 October 1995 Stockton 23 October 1995 Kings Lynn 23 October 1995 Lowestoft — Norwich — Oldham Inner 26 October 1995 Oldham Outer — City 30 October 1995 Hackney — Islington — Croydon 31 October 1995 Hounslow 31 October 1995
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what advice is given by his Department to(a) the business links chief executive and (b) local business links offices about fee rates for business links services. [42268]
§ Mr. PageBusiness links are advised, in the business link service guide, to charge for services where it is reasonable to do so. The guide also sets out the requirements of the European Community state aid rules—which set a 50 per cent. limit on public funding of consultancy and training provision for small and medium-sized enterprises—competition policy and value for money. The guide was issued to business link chief executives in October 1995 and is available to business link staff. I have arranged for a copy of the guide to be placed in the Library of the House.
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