Business Information

• Business Bureau UK
  A comprehensive site for small businesses. It provides information on legal matters, marketing, and contains a directory as well as plenty of links to other useful information on the net in the UK and overseas.
• Business Europa
  Aimed at people who do business in middle and Eastern Europe. This site includes business briefings on countries such as Bosnia and the Ukraine, an interactive discussion forum and links to other sites that may be useful to people doing business with firms in Eastern Europe.
• Business Monitor
  This is large directory of services with information on legislation and regulation in a number of countries. There are also added extras such as recommended hotels. You must register a user name and password for access - at no extra cost.
• Export.co.uk
  This site contains information and advice on the support available from the institute of export, which is an institute that aims to boost the export performance of the UK.
• Trading Standards Net
  Although much of the information on this site is intended for consumers, there is also usful information for businesses, including an overview of the laws relating to trading standards and a directory of all the Trading Standards Offices in the UK.
• UK Taxation Directory
  Managing tax is one of the most important aspects of running a business. This site isn't an advice site in itself, but it's a fairly comprehensive list of links to other web pages related to taxation in the UK, including a directory of tax professionals.

Consultancy

• Business Link
  This is the national sitefor the Business Link Network. It provides links to regional sites around the country and contains a directory of information on a variety of topics. See the main entry for links to your local area.
• Green Business Network
  Based in the Penine regional development area, this consultancy will visit companies free of charge to provide an environmental audit. It includes information on substainable development and waste minimisation.
• Marketing Magic
  Despite the name, this site contains a lot more than just marketing information. There are links related to areas like business travel, and also an online form where you can request free consultancy on most aspects of your business. You can be notified of site updates via email.

Government

• CCTA Government Information Service
  This is the front page of the curiously named Open Government server where you can find links to most of the government information on the internet. But you may have to plough through several screens to track down the information you actually want. If there's a direct link listed elsewhere in the guide use it. Visit this site as a point of interest or as a last resort when yo cant find what you want.
• Department of Trade and Industry
  This is the DTI's main site and has just completed a redesigning to make navigation easier. It provides links to the department's key areas of work and all its recent press releases and ministerial statements.
• UKonline
  The Government's UKonline.gov.uk site together with Department of Trade and Industry has launched a new web service aimed at helping small businesses during their early stages of development.
  UK government guide to setting up a business
• Health and Safety Executive
  HSE press releases, information and contact points.
• Information Market Group
  This site is hosted by the EU. Its primary aim is to help support electronic information and multimedia businesses in the EU, but it also provides links to other EU servers and government servers across Europe.
• Patent Office
  Information on the work of the Patent Office, including costs and complaints procedures.