A CARMARTHENSHIRE business has this week been announced as a finalist for the Wales Business Awards 2025 by Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid.

Businesses of all sizes and from all sectors across Wales entered to be in with a chance of winning a prestigious accolade, with 50 companies named as finalists across 12 categories.

Whitland-based consultancy Landsker Business Solutions has secured a spot on the shortlist for Professional Services Firm of the Year.

The winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony, hosted by broadcaster Andrea Byrne and sponsored by Bevan Buckland LLP, on 12 June at Holland House Hotel, Cardiff. One finalist will also be awarded ‘Wales Business of the Year’ during the ceremony.

Gus Williams, interim CEO of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid, said: “The Wales Business Awards are an exciting showcase for the successes and achievements of the very best of Welsh business. We were thrilled to have received hundreds of fantastic entries this year, highlighting the innovation, creativity and ambitions of companies across the country.

“We are looking forward to celebrating our incredible finalists at our ceremony in June, together with members of the Welsh business community, distinguished dignitaries and ministers including Secretary of State for Wales, the Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP.”

THOUSANDS of people on low incomes across Wales have secured an extra £170m by claiming benefits they didn’t know they were entitled to, thanks to free Welsh Government advice services.

The Claim What’s Yours helpline connects people with friendly advisers who help cut through the confusion of the benefits system. For many who call, including working families, new parents and pensioners, it’s their first time claiming benefits, with many surprised to learn they qualify for financial help.

With around £2bn in benefits going unclaimed in Wales each year; the Single Advice Fund and Claim What’s Yours services have helped 361,000 people to deal with their social welfare problems and to claim £170m of benefits they were entitled to, and write off £49.1m in debts from January 2020 to December 2024.

The services have seen growing demand, with advisers handling over 6,500 calls in the past six months alone – showing how valued the service has become.

Colette Smith, Advice Project Worker at Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taf, has helped hundreds of callers navigate the benefits system. She said: “Every day I speak to people who are genuinely struggling but have no idea they’re entitled to extra support. I recently took a call from a person who was really struggling to make ends meet, on the call I identified that the person was able to claim Pension Credits which meant they were entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction. We helped the client to make the claims and they felt so much better and could now see a way forward.”

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, said: “With billions in benefits going unclaimed each year, it’s clear that too many people don’t know that they are eligible for support. When someone successfully claims pension credit, carer’s allowance or other benefits they’re entitled to, it can mean the difference between struggling and stability, and helps reduce stress and improve their wellbeing.

“The service provides friendly, professional and confidential advice and could make a significant difference to your household budget. If you’re unsure whether you qualify for support, I encourage you to make that phone call and find out what help might be available to you.”

Anyone wanting free, confidential advice can call Advicelink Cymru’s Claim What’s Yours helpline on 0808 250 5700 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. Calls are welcomed in English or Welsh, and help is available for those who cannot hear or speak on the phone through the Relay UK service

PARAMEDICS across the UK are warning that patients are dying because ambulances are unable to offload them into overcrowded A&E departments — a situation tragically echoed in the death of a Pembrokeshire mother whose ambulance never arrived.

Charlotte Burston, 40, from Llanteg, began experiencing severe chest pains on Christmas Day 2023. Her teenage daughter called 999 twice, but was told it would be an hour and a half before help could arrive.

No ambulance was dispatched in time, not because of a lack of willingness, but because so many vehicles were already stuck in hospital bays, unable to hand over patients due to chronic delays and lack of space inside emergency departments.

With no other option, Charlotte’s stepfather drove her towards Withybush Hospital. She suffered a heart attack on the way and later died at Morriston Hospital on New Year’s Eve.

An expert report presented at a recent pre-inquest hearing concluded that had ambulance staff been present at her home, she would “on the balance of probabilities” have survived.

The case comes as a new report by Unison highlights the scale of the crisis facing ambulance services. A survey of almost 600 ambulance workers found that two-thirds had witnessed patients deteriorate during prolonged waits outside hospitals, and one in 20 had seen patients die in their care due to delays in handover.

More than half of respondents reported delays of over six hours, and one in seven had waited 12 hours or more outside emergency departments.

Unison General Secretary Christina McAnea said: “Ambulance workers want the best for their patients. But this is no longer the reality. Ambulances and hospital corridors have become makeshift treatment rooms. The pressure on the NHS is unsustainable.”

Unison is calling for urgent action to increase staffing levels across ambulance, hospital and community services, improve GP access, and expand social care capacity to free up hospital beds.

Pembrokeshire Coroner Mark Layton, who is overseeing the Burston inquest, said that had the 999 call been prioritised properly, paramedics would have been sent and the tragic outcome may have been avoided.