ABSTRACT
The Small Business Service (SBS) and Business Link (BL) initiatives seek to offer support to small and medium sized enterprises through local partnerships. Launched in 1992 by the Conservative Government, Business Link had a high level of cross-party support, with both Labour and Liberal Democrats claiming to have invented the idea. The BL initiative was originally announced by Michael Heseltine, then President of the Board of Trade, in July 1992. It is important to understand that a process of development occurred over a significant period, from announcement until the establishment of the first local BLs. Six Business Link issues were the focus of negotiations in the early years of BL. These were selected and checked with experts in interviews. The issues selected were, and continue to be, the chief policy issues generating debate and controversy surrounding the Business Link initiative as well as the SBS.
