Professor David Farrell:

What I have seen in the more consensus based democracies is that senior civil servants are more visible because they are expected to speak more openly. Whether that suggests the Civil Service in this country is any weaker or less influential than in other countries I could not say. All I am trying to suggest is that there is a need for greater visibility. We need to move away from the Sir Humphreys notion of a civil servant in the background giving quiet advice but never appearing in front of the camera. If the new legislation addresses that issue, it will help but I suspect that what will really help is opening competition for senior civil servant posts in a way that we have not yet seen.