Professor Niamh Hardiman:

Access may or may not involve influence and influence may or may not be appropriate. There is no general answer to that. One thing to remember is that people who want Government to do something like to have access and access is not evenly distributed among different groups and interests in our society. Having exceptionally easy access could be a problem in a context where we are trying think about the balance of consultation and the interests that gain access. That is the concern there.