Over £12m in support payments claimed by Carmarthenshire residents through the Council’s Hwbs

As part of Carmarthenshire County Council’s tackling poverty agenda, an estimated £12m in support payments has been claimed by Carmarthenshire residents, since the inception of the County Council’s Claim What’s Yours Service in 2022.

In 2025 alone, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Hwbs assisted over 2,596 residents referred to its Claim What’s Yours Service to claim more than an estimated £4.5m in support and benefit payments.  

Hwb Advisors have supported applications for a range of Council and third-party support schemes, including blue badges for disabled parking, council tax discounts, grants to help parents purchase school essentials, such as school uniforms and referrals to Citizens Advice to assist with Department for Work and Pensions payments.

There are four ways of accessing this support:

• Online - by visiting the Council’s Claim What’s Yours Page which contains information on a wide range of support schemes or arrange to speak with an advisor.
• Visit a Hwb - located at Carmarthen, Llanelli and Ammanford and speak with one of the friendly Hwb Advisors.
• Hwb Bach y Wlad - As an extension of the three main Hwbs, Hwb Bach y Wlad brings Carmarthenshire County Council’s customer services directly to rural areas.
• Phone the Contact Centre – Customers can raise a Claim What’s Yours referral by phoning 01267 234567, Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 6:00pm.
  In addition to supporting residents referred to the Hwb Advisors, the Hwbs also accommodated over 56,000 visits, from people seeking advice, at the three main Hwbs and Hwb Bach y Wlad surgeries and focused events.

Amongst the residents helped by the Hwb Advisors are Mr S and Mrs B (not their real names).

Mr S and his partner are now £24,626.94 better off a year after visiting the Hwb to apply for a blue badge due to mobility issues. Whilst carrying out the application, Mr S mentioned that he was only just managing to pay his rent and council tax.

A referral was made to Claim What’s Yours and an assessment was carried out with Mr S and his partner, during which an application for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction was made. They were also referred to Citizens Advice for a Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance applications. All of these were granted.

Mrs B and her partner are £19,181.00 better off following a Claim What’s Yours referral. Mrs B was in poor health and visited her local Hwb to ask for assistance as her partner needed to give up work to care for her. Already receiving Universal Credit, an assessment was carried out. Following this, a Council Tax Reduction application was made and the couple were referred to Citizens Advice regarding Personal Independence Payments (PIP) and Carers Allowance.

This resulted in PIP, Carers Allowance and Council Tax reduction being awarded, as well as an increase in Universal Credit for housing costs. A blue badge was also awarded.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Homes and Tackling Poverty Lead, Cllr Emlyn Schiavone, said:

“The cost of living remains a significant pressure on society with more families and households experiencing poverty. 

Our Hwb Advisors are available to provide support and advice as well as carrying out assessments to help residents from a variety of circumstances to claim that they are entitled to. This work aligns with the County Council’s wellbeing objective to enable our residents to live and age well.

Help is available from our three main Hwbs in Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford as well as from our Hwb Bach y Wlad service. Residents can also submit a referral to the Claim What’s Yours service online, via the Council’s website.”

To access help from a Hwb advisor or for more information about how to access support, benefits and services, visit the Claim What’s Yours page on Carmarthenshire County Council’s website.