Step into an Internet booth for business advice wherever you are in York and North Yorkshire.

That is the vision outlined in a bid by Business Link partnership to become a Small Business Service.

The plan is to set up 28 interactive kiosks in remote communities in the region linked to on-line business advice via an innovative digital website and videophone.

The plan is proposed in Business Link North Yorkshire's bid to become one of the Government's new Small Business Services which will succeed the national Business Link network.

The bid, developed by a small working group after consultation with a broad range of partners and intermediaries, details a number of ways to improve business support and advice services throughout York and North Yorkshire

Proposals include -

A new separate mobile kiosk to take services to remote parts of the county, outreach and peripatetic services for new and young businesses - including business clinics across York and North Yorkshire.

Actively seeking out entrepreneurs and businesses with real growth potential for in-depth support.

Setting up a new customer focus group that would feed the views and experiences of customers directly to the Board of the Small Business Service which would have a broad private and public sector mix but be private sector led.

Establishing new partnership consultation arrangements with local public and private sector partners.

Greater exploitation of new technologies is emphasised with the 'up-skilling' of all front-line Small Business Service staff to become IT champions. Also proposed is the development of push-button technology to anticipate customer needs and keep them up to date on areas of interest and importance.

New services would be launched to assist businesses with Information and Communications Technology and e-commerce and there would also be increased emphasis on quality assured services for new and young firms.

As for Investors in People and access to other workforce development services -delivered by North Yorkshire TEC - these, it is suggested, would be integrated into the SBS franchise.

Helen West, Business Link North Yorkshire's chief executive, said: "This an extremely exciting opportunity for all businesses throughout the county and for those whose role is to assist them. All of us who prepared the bid feel we can deliver a significant step-change for local businesses, particularly those in more remote communities where help is harder to access.

"Business Link is fortunate in having developed a strong and highly co-operative partnership infrastructure. If successful our proposal will develop this further to create greater interaction in the formulation and delivery of services to the many talented business people we wish to assist.

"The results of our bid will be known in April when we hope to have a clearer picture of what we need to build upon during the next year before a Small Business Service can take affect in April 2001."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.