It cannot be overstated how big a role digital industries will play in the future jobs market.

I heard this when I spoke with industry experts while working to help bring a cyber security course to Coleg Gwent and I heard about it when I spoke with Thales prior to them setting up their digital security hub in Ebbw Vale.

But in order to compete, areas like ours have to be kept up to speed.

I was dismayed to discover that Blaenau Gwent and the south Wales valleys are being left behind in the roll-out of ultrafast broadband.

The UK government has set a target of hitting 85 per cent gigabit coverage by 2025 and in doing so has been focusing on cities – a contrast to how the Welsh Government ran the previous roll-out of high speed broadband, where areas of historic deprivation were prioritised.

At a recent Public Accounts Committee, colleagues representing urban areas could boast of having up to 80 per cent of their areas covered by gigabit broadband, in Blaenau Gwent we have just three per cent.

Being left lagging behind is not just bad for businesses. Having the best broadband helps keep our communities connected, enabling people to work from home and access all the digital services available to anyone in a city.

Before Christmas I wrote to the relevant ministers for answers about how the government plans to make sure constituencies like mine are not left behind and I will be picking this up again as we return.

The government must work with Ofcom in Wales and the Welsh Government to come up with a much better strategy for getting our valleys up to speed as soon as possible, not three years after everyone else.

* After years of working to get justice for the steelworkers ripped off by rogue advisers during the British Steel Pension Scandal I was very pleased to hear that the Financial Conduct Authority is set to consult on a redress scheme – something I have been pushing for.

I do have some concerns about the terms of the consultation, and I will be challenging the regulators over them, but I will certainly be supporting it, encouraging steelworkers to take part and pushing for the FCA to ensure that the scheme goes ahead.

It has been a long road to get to this point and there should be no further delays to putting things right for steelworkers and their families here in South Wales and across the UK.