I believe they are looking to put 2-3 aircraft in at Cardiff, but as with all things Eastern you can never rely on "plans".
For anyone looking to join them, I would completely ignore any info about them not recruiting this year. The truth is they are nearly always short of crews, as they have been expanding and loosing people to bigger outfits. However, they have recently pulled the J41 out of MAN, NWI, and I have heard HUY as well, so they may have a little slack until those crews leave rather than relocate on turboprop pay to the other end of the UK.
Best advice is to keep sending regular updates of your experience to Steve Jenkins who runs the hiring side of things now. If you can get a recommendation all the better, but don't expect a quick response, as there is very little method in the madness of selection.