News and Events

Speaking in the Scottish Parliament earlier, the First Minister announced the outcomes of the 2nd review of the COVID-19 Strategic Framework.

  • From this Friday the 20thof November at 6pm, 11 local authority areas in Scotland will be placed into Tier 4 of restrictions including East and West Dunbartonshire.

For the areas going into Tier 4, these measures will be in place from three weeks, as of Friday, and will expire on 11th December.

New and temporary business support funds are being administered by Local Authorities on behalf of the Scottish Government, providing one-off grants to businesses very directly impacted by the restrictions implemented on 9 October 2020.  A COVID-19 Business Closure Fund is available to hospitality and other businesses required to close (except for takeaway) by these new restric ...

NeemCo is a micro-SME, based on the shores of Loch Lomond. It has developed Riddance® - a control of ectoparasites of farmed fish. The initial work has focused on the sea louse (Lepophtheirus salmonis) which is the scourge of farmed salmon in Scotland and other countries where the fish are farmed. Riddance® is administered by inclusion in fish feed. Trials conducted with Ridda ...

A family of dedicated eye health professionals have stayed at their posts throughout the COVID-19 crisis not only to serve their West Dunbartonshire community but also to help key NHS workers carry on the fight against the virus.  Independent family-owned optician Wilkie & Rider, which has two outlets in Alexandria and Dumbarton, has been one of the few firms of eyecare sp ...

Temperature screening smartphones for a safer return to work, leisure and life. Columbus UK is delighted to announce that it is a supplier of the world’s first smartphone with integrated thermal imaging technology. More businesses including hospitality, retail, logistics and manufacturing are using EST (elevated skin temperature) detection as part of their programs to protect ...

The Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel has been named Conference Hotel of the Year 2020 at the Scottish Hotel Awards. In a night of triple success, the four-star venue also picked up the Reception Team of the Year award with Scott Fraser being named Chef De Partie of the Year. The winners were announced on Facebook on Sunday 25 April after the physical ceremony had to be cancell ...

For most, using a pedestrian crossing is a simple process. Approach the crossing, press the button, wait for the signal and cross the road. But for people with mobility or visual impairments these crossings can be much more of a challenge and their use can be a cause of real anxiety. Over 10% of the UK population (approximately 6.5 million) have mobility impairments that could ...

Damon Scott, Chief Executive of the Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce responded to some of the announcements and advice coming from the Scottish and UK Governments this week: “We were encouraged by some of the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s, investment announcements in the Budget this week. Particularly welcome was the £5bn for broadband connectivity and the Coronavirus business i ...

Spring Budget Summary 2020 Martin, Aitken & Co. Thursday, 12 March 2020 “….get it done” was a recurrent phrase in the Budget speech of the new Chancellor, Rishi Sunak. It could equally have been “get it spent” or “get it borrowed” as Mr Sunak announced a raft of spending initiatives with few supporting tax increases. His performance did not follow the st ...

Coronavirus advice and information for business Coronavirus and its potential impact on business and the economy is a developing situation on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Whilst it has not yet taken hold in a significant way the UK, incidences are on the increase and the Chamber and our membership are experiencing the cancellation of more and more business events whilst we ...