To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for Business Links is for (a) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12. (285068)

For the period 2007-08, an estimate of the budget for Business Link allocated by the regional development agencies was £190 million. No forward budget is agreed with the RDAs for this activity. Business Link services are funded from the Government’s single-pot to the regional development agencies to deliver agreed core services to businesses in each region. The exact budget for those contracted services is left for each RDA to determine based on what is appropriate for its region.

To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much (a) each regional development agency and (b) his Department allocated to Business Link in each of the last five years. (289830)

In 2005, responsibility for managing Business Link face-to-face services was transferred to the RDAs. The previous budget used to deliver Business Link services was added to the Department's contribution towards the RDA "Single-Pot". This allows the regions to draw down as much or as little funding as they see fit to deliver the service in their areas.

Over the last five years, the RDAs have allocated the following budgets to their Business Link providers: