Citizens Advice Rhondda Cynon Taff

Who we are

The twin aims of the Citizens Advice service are:

● to provide the advice people need for the problems they face.
● to improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.

The Citizens Advice service is free, independent, impartial, confidential, and non-judgemental. It aims to be equally accessible to everyone who seeks or needs its help, regardless of age, class, race, religion, gender, disability, or sexuality. All advice staff, whether paid or voluntary, are trained to provide an accurate, quality service and to be supportive to clients.

CARCT is a trusted provider of advice services locally, regionally, and nationally having been reestablished in 1983 though we have a history that stretches back to the founding Citizens Advice Bureaux in 1939. For the financial year 2024-25 our revenue stream was in excess of £3m and over 100 staff members and volunteers were involved in delivering our advice services to over 20,000 clients.

Our primary office is in Mountain Ash with a second office in Pontypridd. From here we deliver a range of services by phone, webchat, email, in-person by appointment and we host a weekly drop-in session. We also run weekly drop-in services in more than 20 community venues across RCT.

We deliver a range of specialist services from our offices. This includes:
● Advicelink Specialist Welfare Benefits and Debt which can help people with a range of benefits and debt problems.
● Help Through Hardship, a national partnership that provides access to emergency advice and support, including referral to foodbanks.
● Help To Claim, funded by the Department of Work and Pensions and helps people from across the UK making their first Universal Credit claim.
● Resilient Families Service, delivered in partnership with RCT County Borough Council and offers tailored debt, benefits, housing and money management support to individuals and families.
● Advice service to users of Foodbanks across RCT funded by the Trussell Trust.

Our culture and values

We’re inventive. We’re not afraid of trying new things and learning by getting things wrong. We question every idea to make it better and we change when things aren’t working.

We’re generous. We work together, sharing knowledge and experience to solve problems. We tell it like it is and respect everyone.

We’re responsible. We do what we say we’ll do and keep our promises. We remember that we work for a charity and use our resources effectively.