Professor David Farrell:

It is also necessary to change the culture of the Civil Service. There was discussion during the 2011 election about whether senior appointments to the Civil Service should be more open in terms of recruiting people from the outside. It is only by bringing in people from outside the organisation that one effects a cultural shift. Part of this change would be the notion that a senior civil servant might be allowed to speak about when he or she disagreed with a Minister while giving evidence to a committee. I would make the argument that the notion of openness and transparency must go right across the piste.