To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many Business Link staff were assigned to the London Borough of Sutton in each of the last five years; how many (a) contacts and (b) cases were recorded by Business Link in the London Borough of Sutton in each of the last five years; what steps are being taken by Business Link to support business in Sutton; and if he will make a statement. (262121)

Business Link in London (BLiL) delivers across London and does not structure its service delivery staff to cover specific London boroughs.

The BLiL company has only existed for the last two years and data relating to previous years are not available. There are no data available for contacts other than when assistance is provided.

In the last two years in Sutton the number of business support cases recorded by BLiL are as follows:

over 2,000 established small and medium sized companies

over 350 start-ups,

over 1,000 pre start-ups

1,200 people being given generic business advice.

In addition, during the last two years BLiL has worked closely with Sutton's business community and strategic partners. These have included the local authority and the London borough of Sutton Employment and Skills Partnership.

BLiL has also worked with the London borough of Sutton to help develop their 10-point action plan on business support and is actively supporting the implementation of this plan. This includes, the promotion of advice and support for small businesses. In collaboration with BLiL and Business Focus, the borough will hold surgeries offering business support and a diagnostic service.