Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps is her department taking to tackle the potential impact of the Yellow Legged Hornet on pollinators in Canterbury in wider Kent.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra remains committed to taking action against Yellow-Legged Hornets (YLHs) in England in 2026 and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) stand ready to respond to reported sightings. The NBU will follow up credible reports of YLHs to find and destroy nests.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to raise public awareness of potential impact Yellow Legged Hornets on pollinators.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to share the message about the threat of Yellow Legged Hornets (YLHs) to pollinators including honey bees and encourages the public to report suspected sightings. The Department uses a range of communication channels to inform beekeepers and the wider public.
The Non-Native Species Secretariat (NNSS) works with over 50 local actions groups and a wide range of other organisations to raise awareness of YLH and has distributed over 48,000 Yellow-Legged Hornet awareness raising materials since January 2026.
Invasive Species Week is an annual event to raise awareness of invasive non-native species and how everyone can help to reduce their impacts. This year it will take place from 22 to 28 June 2026. Tuesday 23 June will focus on recording and volunteering and will include events highlighting work on YLH.
Additional media opportunities for awareness raising will be used as they arise.
As part of the wider work to support pollinators, Defra has committed to delivering a refreshed Pollinator Action Plan, as part of the broader Environmental Improvement Plan. This will set out key actions for pollinators in England.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the future sustainability and funding of the Music and Dance Scheme; and what steps she is taking to support young musicians and dancers.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Canterbury to the answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111333.
Asked by: Rosie Duffield (Independent - Canterbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of hearing tests for those 18 years old and under, including by audiologists who are not registered with the CQC.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services in England and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including for audiology services for those 18 years old and under.
The National Diagnostic Waiting Times and Activity dataset includes data on the percentage of patients waiting more than six weeks for an audiology assessment, and can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/diagnostics-waiting-times-and-activity/
However, this data cannot be split by adult/child, therefore the Department has not made a formal assessment of the accessibility of hearing tests for those 18 years old and under. As of January 2026, the dataset showed that 45% of patients were waiting more than six weeks for an audiology assessment.
Audiology services are not required to be registered with Care Quality Commission where the services provided do not fall under the regulated activities, as set out in the regulations. Audiology activities, such as hearing tests, hearing aid fittings, and tympanometry/routine assessments are not regulated activities. More information is available at the following link:
When an audiologist is a practicing clinical scientist or a hearing aid dispenser, they must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, with further information available at the following link: