To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what effect the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive has on the ability of the recent appointment of the Northern Ireland representative to the UK-wide Covenant Reference Group to carry out her role.

The Northern Ireland Assembly agreed to nominate appropriate representatives to the national governance bodies of the Armed Forces Covenant on 6 December 2016. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has urged all parties to make appropriate nominations to the Covenant's national governance bodies a priority for the devolved Government once reconvened. In the interim, Northern Ireland's interests on the national governance bodies of the Armed Forces Covenant are represented by Ministers and officials from the Northern Ireland Office.