Straw told a Public Administration Select Committee hearing into the future of the civil service last week that ministers “must have a proper discretion over appointments”.
The only formal involvement ministers currently have in the appointment process is a right to veto the selection panel’s choice. However, Straw described this as “misguided and self-defeating”, and compared it with “a straitjacket imposed on ministerial discretion”.
Straw expressed a generally positive view of the civil service, which he described as “one of the best in the world”, but added that it does need to improve.