The Conservatives will scrap the Government-run website Business Link if they win the next election, shadow enterprise minister Mark Prisk has said.
Business Link provides a wide range of information to UK businesses, covering subjects such as filing tax documents, taking out business insurance and using technology in the workplace. However, Prisk believes that the service, which costs the Government roughly £190 million a year to operate, does not represent good value for money.
The website employs some 1,500 staff to maintain the advisory service, but Prisk said that it is “failing in its task”, adding:
“Many surveys show that only a small proportion of businesses use it, and those that do are dissatisfied with the service they receive.
“I also take the view that you shouldn’t employ civil servants to tell small-business owners how to run their firms. Our job in