chief executive,

North and Mid Cheshire TEC

Seamless support for small businesses

IN last month's column, I discussed the boundaries for the Local Skills Councils and the Small Business Service, the new bodies which will take over delivery of Post 16 Education and Training and Business Support services from the TEC in April 2001.

This month, I would like to concentrate on the Small Business Service, what it is, how it will operate and what plans are underway for the setting up of the new service in the North and Mid Cheshire TEC region.

The Small Business Service (SBS) is the successor body to Business Links.

Discussions concerning its operational scope are currently taking place and this may incorporate a number of the activities currently undertaken by the other bodies, such as Chambers of Commerce and Local Councils.

The SBS is a franchise operation, for which tenders have to be submitted by mid February 2000 from invited applicants. The precise activities of the SBS will be based upon the tenders submitted.

The bid for the Cheshire/Warrington area franchise will be submitted by a combination of the current partners in the area, namely: Business Links, Chambers of Commerce, Local Councils and Cheshire County Council.

The bid will incorporate all existing services but, with the additional resources available from the much wider geographical area, more specialist support will be available to small businesses within it.

There will be local units throughout the area which, through modern technology, will be able to call upon all the support services provided by the area franchise.

The SBS franchise for the Greater Merseyside area, which includes Halton, is being set up on the same principles. The overall objective is to provide a seamless transition from the existing system to the new, ensuring that there is no interruption in business support and an ongoing improvement in the services provided to small businesses.

Business Support, through Business Links, will continue until the end of March 2001, with the new franchises commencing operations in April 2001.

For more information contact Business Link Warrington and Vale Royal on 01925 668000 or Business Link Halton on 0151420 9420.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.