Robert Fredrick Behrens (born 19 January 1952) is the

Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman 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 ...

. He has previously worked as the Chief Executive and

Independent Adjudicator An independent adjudicator is an authorized judge in the United Kingdom who has the power to make binding decisions in a particular field. The mechanism is designed to represent the interests of groups which would otherwise have gone unrepresent ...

for the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA) and as the Complaints Commissioner for the

Bar Standards Board The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers in England and Wales for the public interest. It is responsible for: * Setting standards of conduct for barristers and authorising barristers to practise; * Monitoring the service provided by barrist ...

Education

Behrens was educated at Burnage Grammar School in Manchester. Afterwards, he went on to study Political Science and Government at the Universities of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

and

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Career

Behrens began his career at Coventry Polytechnic, where he lectured in Public Policy and Administration. In 1988, he joined the

Civil Service The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

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 The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Behrens then became the Secretary to the

Committee on Standards in Public Life The Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) is an advisory non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom Government, established by John Major in 1994 to advise the Prime Minister on ethical standards of public life. It promotes a code o ...

, in 2003. The role included providing advice to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

on issues regarding ethics and conduct of public office holders. In January 2005, he oversaw the Committee's tenth inquiry and report, and the publication of the first national survey of public attitudes towards Public Office Holders. He left the Civil Service in 2006 to become the Complaints Commissioner of the Bar Standards Board (BSB). The BSB regulates the behaviours and set standards for

Barristers in England and Wales Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

. 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. The report highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the complaints system and targeted changes which made "common sense" to improve the system. In the summer of 2008, Behrens became the Independent Adjudicator and Chief Executive of the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education (OIA). He replaced the first Independent Adjudicator,

Baroness Ruth Deech Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and became a full-time Adjudicator highlighting the rise in student complaints since its inception in 2004. Behrens' first major statement in October 2008 was to produce the Pathway Report 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. In June 2011, the OIA produced their Annual Report which signifies yet another record rise in complaints and singled out

Academic Misconduct An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

as an emerging issue. Behrens was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to higher education. Behrens was appointed Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman on 6 April 2017.

Personal life

Behrens is an avid supporter of

Manchester City Football Club Manchester City Football Club are an English football club based in Manchester that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's (West Gorton), they became Ardwick Association Football ...

and is an occasional contributor to 'The Man City Show' Podcast. Behrens is also a Trustee of the Fort Hare University Foundation, UK.

References

External links

OIA Website

Bar Standards Board Members
{{DEFAULTSORT:Behrens, Rob Alumni of the University of Nottingham British civil servants Alumni of the University of Exeter Living people 1952 births Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Academics of Coventry University People from Burnage