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Sir Robert Fredrick Behrens CBE (born 19 January 1952) was the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman from 6 April 2017 to 27 March 2024. He has previously worked as the Chief Executive and Independent Adjudicator for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) and as the Complaints Commissioner for the Bar Standards Board.
Behrens was educated at Burnage Grammar School in Manchester. Afterwards, he went on to study Political Science and Government at the Universities of Nottingham and Exeter.
Behrens began his career at Coventry Polytechnic, where he lectured in Public Policy and Administration.
In 1988, he joined the Civil Service and helped develop Fast-Stream programmes on government and social policy at the Civil Service College.
In 1992, Behrens became the Director of the Southern African Development Unit which involved the preparation of a Post-Apartheid Public Service. For his work, he was personally thanked by President Nelson Mandela.
In 1997, Behrens was promoted to the Senior Civil Service where he became the Director of the International Public Service Group (IPSG). The ISPG provided valuable assistance to 25 countries in transition, including countries that were applying for membership to the European Union.
Behrens then became the Secretary to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, in 2003. [1] The role included providing advice to the Prime Minister on issues regarding ethics and conduct of public office holders. In January 2005, he oversaw the Committee's tenth inquiry and report, [2] and the publication of the first national survey of public attitudes towards Public Office Holders. [3]
He left the Civil Service in 2006 to become the Complaints Commissioner of the Bar Standards Board (BSB). [4] The BSB regulates the behaviors and set standards for Barristers in England and Wales. In July 2007, Behrens published a report regarding a strategic review of complaints and disciplinary processes for the BSB, highlighting a series of recommendations to improve the way the BSB is run. [5] The report highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the complaints system and targeted changes which made "common sense" to improve the system. [6]
In the summer of 2008, Behrens became the Independent Adjudicator and Chief Executive of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). [7] He replaced the first Independent Adjudicator, Baroness Ruth Deech and became a full-time Adjudicator highlighting the rise in student complaints since its inception in 2004. [8] Behrens' first major statement in October 2008 was to produce the Pathway Report [9] to develop the OIA into a key stakeholder in the Higher Education spectrum, along with making sure that the day to day processes are up to standard. Key Stakeholders were invited to comment and qualitative and quantitative findings and comments were published in the report which was published in February 2010. At the end of 2010, the OIA produced the second round of the Pathway Report highlighting the key issues emerging from the Pathway Report, and in July 2011, released the Pathway 3 Consultation in reply to the Higher Education White Paper, highlighting the importance of students at the heart of the system. In January 2011, Behrens was named as a lay member of the BSB board. [10] In June 2011, the OIA produced their Annual Report [11] which signifies yet another record rise in complaints and singled out Academic Misconduct as an emerging issue.
Behrens was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to higher education. [12] He was knighted in the 2024 King's Birthday Honours "for public service". [13]
Behrens was appointed Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on 6 April 2017, [14] serving until he stepped down on 27 March 2024. [15]
Behrens is an avid supporter of Manchester City Football Club and is an occasional contributor to 'The Man City Show' Podcast. Behrens is also a Trustee of the Fort Hare University Foundation, UK.
Ruth Lynn Deech, Baroness Deech, DBE is a British academic, lawyer, bioethicist and politician, most noted for chairing the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), from 1994 to 2002, and as the former Principal of St Anne's College, Oxford. Deech sits as a Crossbench peer in the House of Lords (2005–) and chaired the Bar Standards Board (2009–2014).
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) comprises the offices of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) and the Health Service Commissioner for England (HSC). The Ombudsman is responsible for considering complaints by the public that UK Government departments, public authorities and the National Health Service in England have not acted properly or fairly or have provided a poor service.
The Pensions Ombudsman is the official ombudsman institution responsible for investigating complaints regarding pensions in the United Kingdom. The Pensions Ombudsman is a non-departmental public body stewarded by the Department of Work and Pensions, and the Ombudsman and Deputy Ombudsman are appointed by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. The Ombudsman is an independent commissioner; he and his staff are not civil servants. His brief is to resolve disputes of fact or law and to investigate claims of maladministration. Unusually for UK Ombudsmen, the Pensions Ombudsman's determinations are binding on the parties and enforceable in the County Court. There is a right of appeal to the High Court on a point of law. In England the High Court's permission has to be obtained for an appeal.
The Health and Social Care Select Committee is a Departmental Select Committee of the British House of Commons, the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament. Its remit is to examine the policy, administration and expenditure of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and its associated agencies and public bodies. The Clerks of the Committee are Previn Desai and Joanna Dodd.
The Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) is an act of the New Zealand Parliament which creates a public right to access information held by government bodies. It is New Zealand's primary freedom of information law and has become an important part of New Zealand's constitutional framework.
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The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for:
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The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales was established by section 1(1) of the Public Services Ombudsman (Wales) Act 2005. The Public Services Ombudsman for Wales brings together the jurisdictions of various offices he replaced, namely the Local Government Ombudsman for Wales, the Health Service Ombudsman for Wales, the Welsh Administration Ombudsman and the Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales.
The Standards Commission for Scotland is an independent body that has the purpose of advancing high ethical standards in public life. Its main tool is the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for councillors and those appointed to devolved public bodies.
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Ann Abraham is a public servant who was the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and Health Service Commissioner for England between 2002 and 2011.
An ombudsman, ombud, ombuds, bud, ombudswoman, ombudsperson, or public advocate is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity which has been designated under the Higher Education Act 2004 to run the higher education student complaints scheme within England and Wales. The OIA's rules outline the complaints that it can and cannot review, these contain new rules from the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The OIA has no regulatory powers over higher education providers, such as universities or colleges, and is unable to punish or fine them. The OIA is a recognised ADR.
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Walter Hugh Merricks, who qualified as an English solicitor, has held a number of senior appointments in legal and public institutions, the best known being his tenure as the inaugural Chief Ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service between 1999 and 2009. He was Chair of IMPRESS, the Independent Monitor for the Press, and the law reform charity JUSTICE. He was a member of the Civil Aviation Authority's consumer panel until 2023. As class representative, he has filed a £14 billion class action claim on behalf of British consumers against MasterCard Incorporated before the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
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| Health Service Commissioner for England | ||
| Health Service Commissioner for Scotland (until 2002) | ||
| Health Service Commissioner for Wales (until 2003) | ||
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