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NEWS FOCUS 11
News
Serco to take reins of Business Link service
Service company Serco is to take over running the capital’ s small business support unit from Business Link for London next year. After a five-month tendering process, the company was selected for the three-year Business Link operator grant after signing a £ 60m agreement with the London Development Agency.
It will take over the business unit in April 2007. Serco will be responsible for ensuring all businesses can access free information online or via telephone 24 hours a day- seven days a week. It will provide information, diagnostic and brokerage services including advice on how firms can tap into 2012 Olympic business opportunities and will help businesses access other support providers in both the public and private sectors.
Serco, which currently operates the national business link website- www. businesslink. gov. uk- on behalf of the DTI and its Small Business Service is experienced in meeting complex customer needs and has delivered contracts in the public and private sectors.
The agreement with Serco is subject to approval by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.
Fines warning over unlicensed software use
Companies using licensed software could face an increased risk of prosecution, following the announcement that people who report the unlicensed use of software within businesses could be offered a £ 20,000 reward.
Those who report businesses’ illegal software use can currently claim a reward worth up to £ 10,000 from the Business Software
Alliance( BSA). But the BSA is doubling the maximum reward until the end of June in an attempt to clamp down on unlicensed software.
According to research house IDC, 27 per cent of software in use in UK businesses is illegal. For more information on complying with software licences visit www. bsa. org / uk To do a free scan of your business software to ensure you have the licences you need on Microsoft’ s Software Asset Management website at www. microsoft. com / resources / sam / default. mspx Access free guidance on software licensing and carry out a free software audit at www. justasksam. co. uk
The BSA offers businesses the following advice on compliance
London businesses call for protection
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The majority of businesses in London believe that small shops should be protected from the threat of supermarkets and major chains by the government, according to a recent survey.
The survey by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry( LCCI) shows that 68 % of the respondents believed that the planning system should be used
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to limit the expansion of supermarkets and multiple retailers.
Company directors( 91 %) say that small businesses give the capital its‘ flavour’ and feel that they are what makes London unique. Only 59 % of respondents agreed with the statement,‘ supermarkets and multiple retailers have met the changing needs of their customers and consumers
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have consistently voted with their feet’.
The survey also revealed that 78 % of respondents felt that competition from superstores and out-of-town shopping centres was one of the biggest pressures.
Other concerns cited by small business owners were rising rents( 67 %), unhelpful regulation / business rates( 59 %) and the congestion charge( 45 %).
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Every piece of software used on your PCs should be covered by a licence agreement. Unless the licence states otherwise, you may only use one copy of the software on one PC. You need to purchase a licence for each machine, or a multiple-user licence. UK copyright law is breached if the number of users of the software exceeds the number of licences purchased.
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