RIP Business Link Website

Pennywise

For some bizarre reason the useful Business Link web site has been closed down and replaced with ...

https://www.gov.uk/

Which is unbelievably dumbed down and Noddy speak and gives virtually no help/advice for small businesses.

Gone are all those useful links to book-keeping spreadsheets, forecasts, etc, and all those pages of real helpful information for small businesses.

ALL GONE.

What do we have instead? Nothing but some Noddy language and links to other Govt websites. Talk about going backwards.

And that's before we consider all the errors they've made. There are at least a dozen errors on the tax/limited company pages alone

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=274880

and no doubt other areas will have errors as it's clearly not been written by people who know what they're talking about.

It would have cost zilch to keep the old Business Link website going, but what do they do - spend millions of creating a new website which has about 1% of the advice/information. I understand the idea behind scrapping Business Link itself, but their website had been made and paid for and should have been retained or rebranded.

The Govt say that they want to encourage small business so why have they binned all the useful advice and information? It defies logic. What are they smoking?

Also, just noticed that there's absolutely nothing on it about business insurance - probably one of the most important aspects of business - do a search and it's not even mentioned. Nothing about coimpulsory employers liability insurance even. They've managed to include all the red tape, H&L, discrimination, etc., but failed spectacularly to mention business insurance. This is a classic example because the Business Link website had loads of information about insurance - why didn't they copy & paste?

You couldn't make it up?

I'm writing to my MP and also Vince Cable to either get the BL website back or to get it's content copied & pasted before it's lost forever. I urge others to do so.

PlutoinCapricorn

It has become automatic to refer newcomers to this website, which was very useful. I can't believe that this has happened and so suddenly.

WantToBeSE

I think its because the new GOV.UK is incorporating Business Link:

https://www.gov.uk/

If i were you, i'd start refering people there instead

Pennywise

WantToBeSE wrote: »

I think its because the new GOV.UK is incorporating Business Link:

https://www.gov.uk/

If i were you, i'd start refering people there instead

But there's little there worth looking at. Where have the business plan/forecasts templates gone? Where has the book-keeping advice gone? Where has the insurance advice gone? What about the dozen or so errors in the tax/company sections alone? As it stands, people using the new website can make serious mistakes with their business as it's not accurate nor complete enough to rely on. There's now a massive gap left by the removal of the BL website. I'd definitely NOT recommend anyone to look at the Gov.uk website as it stands at the moment.

WantToBeSE

Pennywise wrote: »

But there's little there worth looking at. Where have the business plan/forecasts templates gone? Where has the book-keeping advice gone? Where has the insurance advice gone? What about the dozen or so errors in the tax/company sections alone? As it stands, people using the new website can make serious mistakes with their business as it's not accurate nor complete enough to rely on. There's now a massive gap left by the removal of the BL website. I'd definitely NOT recommend anyone to look at the Gov.uk website as it stands at the moment.

OK, well i was just pointing out where it had moved to.

paddyrg

Is it worth harvesting the google cache/archive.org links so you can point back in time for those occasions when you need to?

Also, those old businesslink links *should* be pointing at their equivalent sites on gov.uk - check the 'no link left behind' blog post - very clever, but if they are failing, let them know.

antonic

It is part of a Govt strategy to have all their websites run off one site.

I preferred the old site, but obviously the Govt knows best and have decided that this is the way forward ( or backwards !).

chalkie99

Thanks Pennywise.

Just looking at the Small Business Rates Relief section and that is, indeed, misleading.

Until 31 March 2013 you’ll get 100% relief (doubled from the usual rate of 50%) for properties with a rateable value of £6,000 or less.

As a "UK" site it must encourage people to think that their figures apply to all of the UK and, therefore, people are unlikely to investigate further.

As I understand it, the normal rate of 50% quoted applies only to England - it is 100% in Scotland but only 25% in Wales.

It may well be that the extra relief will still be extended beyond March 2013 but, as it stands, the figures quoted could easily cause a new business to wrongly estimate their costs.

Savvy_Sue

I've just emailed my MP. Not expecting a lot, but it's something!

System

There is now so much missing from the new gov.uk site that used to be on others such as direct.gov that it is a joke.

vivatifosi

Business Link was a great website. Great shame.