Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with representatives of the incoming U.S. President on the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland.

The Foreign Secretary has not discussed the appointment of a US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland with representatives of the incoming US President. Appointments by the incoming US administration are a matter for them. We will work constructively with whoever is appointed as the next administration's US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, just as we continue to work constructively with Joe Kennedy III, the current US Special Envoy. The UK has a thriving trading and investment relationship with the US that encourages mutual growth across the whole of the UK, including Northern Ireland. We are pleased that US delegations regularly visit Northern Ireland, and we expect that to continue in the years ahead.