AWM backs Business Link for another two years
Oct 5 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post
Advantage West Midlands has put its support behind troubled advisory body Business Link by confirming another two years of funding.
Rumours had been flying over the future of Business Link after troubleshooters were sent in by AWM following the surprise departure of chief executive Alison White.
Just over a week ago, the service said it would be cutting 25 of its staff as part of a cost-cutting plan but AWM revealed that it had agreed funding for the business support company from April next year through to March 2012. West Midlands Taskforce director Lorraine Holmes has been named as the replacement for Ms White.
AWM would not confirm the amount of money promised to Business Link but, in 2008, the regional development agency put nearly £25 million into the budget. This provided the core of Business Link’s budget of £42 m.
Mick Laverty, the chief executive of AWM, said: “I’m delighted to announce the two-year extension to Business Link West Midlands’ contract. It is vital that there is continuity in business support services to the companies in our region, particularly in these turbulent economic times.
“We will be working very closely with Business Link West Midlands to further improve the services they offer to the business community and ensure they play a part in helping businesses become fitter and more able to seize new opportunities as we emerge from this recession.
“What is critical right now is providing a service that offers relevant, high-quality services and which represents value for money. We are confident that these announcements will achieve that aim.”
Richard Barnes, the chairman of Business Link West Midlands, added: “The contract extension is excellent news for Business Link West Midlands and will allows us to build on the work we have been undertaking with local businesses to make them stronger during these turbulent economic times.
“We now look forward to working much more closely with Advantage West Midlands and our regional partners to continue serving the needs of the West Midlands region.”
He added he was pleased to welcome back Ms Holmes to the company. She had worked for Business Link before becoming a director of the West Midlands Taskforce.
He said she had a “unique understanding of the current economic and business environment and the needs of business”, adding: “I’ve no doubt Lorraine will bring additional clarity and focus to Business Link West Midlands operations, in particular ensuring that we work in collaboration with our partners to deliver further improvements to our services.”
Business Link has been through a particularly turbulent time in recent weeks. The 25 redundancies announced on September 25 represent about 10 per cent of its workforce while The Birmingham Post reported that the group had to hold an extraordinary board meeting following the surprise departure of Ms White.
The Business Link cutbacks came amid a wider contraction in local public-sector spending. AWM itself had to abandon its’ funding for dozens of regeneration projects around the region after its own budget was cut by central government.
