§ Mr. CotterTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what estimate she has made of the(a) time scale and (b) cost of developing and Internet site for business links. [10586]
§ Mrs. RocheThe business link national Internet site was launched on 25 October 1996. The cost of the development of the site to the DTI will total £180,000 over a period of three years up until 13 October 1999.
The Government are developing an Internet-based enterprise zone, which will provide small and medium firms with a one-stop access point to Internet sites which provide the most appropriate and authoritative business-related information and sources of further support to meet firms' needs, including the business link network. The Government will be providing up to £200,000 for initial development of the site funded from existing resources. On-going management and enhancement will be undertaken on a fully commercial basis and we expect to be able to launch the site in the autumn.
§ Mr. CotterTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the total amount of funding provided by the Government for the business links network in 1996–97. [10633]
§ Mrs. RocheThe total amount of funding provided to the business link network in 1996–97 was £114.6 million. This comprised £41.1 million for business link development and £73.5 million for the delivery of business link services.