As well as the chance to spend precious time with my family, Parliament’s summer recess gives me more of an opportunity to get out and about around my constituency.

I love meeting the people who make our communities the great places they are, through their dedication at work or as volunteers. It’s a fantastic opportunity to listen and learn from their passion for what they do.

For example, thank you to the Bridge 46 to Five Locks group for showing me their patch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. I look forward to working with them alongside Lynne Neagle MS and Torfaen Council to improve navigation and make more of this fantastic asset, which has certainly been well-used by walkers during the lockdown!

It was also a privilege this month to get out on the front line with Gwent Police officers in Torfaen. We talked about issues like antisocial behaviour, domestic abuse and illegal off-road biking, and I got to see the pressures police officers face on a daily basis. Thank you to them all for their dedication, and for everything they do to make our communities safer.

Further afield, I visited the National Memorial Arboretum for a moving service to dedicate the new UK Police Memorial. I laid a wreath in honour of all those police officers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Earlier in the week I had also attended the unveiling of Michael Thacker Court in St Dials, named in memory of local hero Cpl Michael Thacker of 1st Battalion Royal Welsh, who died in service in Afghanistan in 2012.

Cpl Thacker went to school nearby in Fairwater before joining up, so it is fitting that Torfaen Council and Melin Homes have got together to name a street in his honour. In Torfaen, we are deeply proud of the service of local men and women in our Armed Forces. I am determined that the sacrifice of those who have paid the ultimate price will never be forgotten.

Lastly, another big thank you to everyone involved in our Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Getting vaccinated protects yourself and others. It has been good to see Torfaen, Gwent and Wales at the forefront of vaccination percentages, with local people coming forward for their jabs and more clinics being held all the time.

Thank you to all those who have played a part in this – the statistics from the third wave of infections show how much of a difference the vaccine has made in preventing deaths and serious illnesses.