Assembly AM’s are now in what is euphemistically referred to as the Summer Recess. What this means is that we do not meet for debates in the Chamber, and are not formally required to attend the Assembly building. In reality of course both AM’s, and their staff, still regularly use our office facilities in the Senedd, in order attend to various issues which arise during recess .As I am fast learning, the recess does not infer a long holiday period. As AM’s we are still very much concerned with constituency work, and, as a new AM, this has involved me in setting up venues for surgeries in each of the four constituencies in which I shall be holding them. These will include surgeries in Tredegar (Blaenau Gwent) Blackwood (Islwyn) Merthyr (Merthyr and Rhymney) and Pontypool (Torfaen) the latter will be held in our soon to be opened offices in Commercial Street. My fellow UKIP AM Mark Reckless will be announcing his surgery venues for Newport (East and West) Caerphilly, and Monmouth. This split in our responsibilities will allow us to spend more time on any issues raised in our surgery interviews.

As spokesperson for my party on the Economy, infrastructure and skills committee I have been very involved in matters arising from this position. The Circuit of Wales, the Ebbw vale line and the lack of a link to Newport, together with the new M 4 route are just a few of the matters which have occupied my time over the last few months.

The Circuit of Wales has to be one of the most exiting projects ever envisaged for the deprived regions across the whole of the South Wales Valleys. The Welsh Governments procrastination over funding guaranties is putting this project at risk. There have been so many delays and broken promises that the people in these deprived areas are beginning to despair as to whether these desperately needed jobs will ever materialise. UKIP in Wales is fully behind this project and will do everything we can to bring it to fruition.