Catalogue description Records of Business Link

Business Link is a free Government-funded business advice and support service in England, available online and through local advisers supported by a national helpline, which exists as Not-for-Profit company of the UK Government.

The service that would become Business Link was established in 1993 by then President of the Board of Trade, Michael Heseltine, when he was in charge of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as a national chain of 'One Stop Shop' for businesses support. By 1998 a network of 89 Business Links had been established. In 1999 the DTI's Small Business Service took responsibility for the service and the 89 Business Links reduced to 43 nationally.

The Business Link website in its current form was launched in May 2004 as part of the Transformational Government programme, a wider central government initiative aimed at rationalising and converging hundreds of government websites. The website is aimed at saving time and money by giving customers instant access to clear and trustworthy information; rather than providing all the advice and help itself, it fast-tracks customers to the expert help they need whatever the issue. It is developed in partnership with subject experts within government and relevant business support organisations to comply with regulations and improve their performance.

From 1 April 2005, the nine Regional Development Agencies administered by the DTI and its successors took control of the face-to-face part of the service and were tasked with finding the best service for business in their region.

The departments now in overall charge of the programme are the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) for the regional network, and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the website.

On 17 October 2012 the online Business Link portal was replaced along with Directgov by the new GOV.UK website.