As I come to the end of my term as Chair of STEP’s England and Wales Regional Committee, I wanted to reflect on some of the developments since I took on the role in January 2017. Raising our profile Internally at STEP, much of the emphasis over my time as Chair has been on raising… Read More What’s happening in England and Wales?
STEP took part in the EC-HCCH Joint Conference on the Cross-Border Protection of Vulnerable Adults last week in Brussels, to discuss the ratification of the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults (the Hague Convention) at EU and global level and the possible future EU legislative initiatives in this field.… Read More Cross-border protection of vulnerable adults in Europe under discussion
UPDATE 07/12/2018 The Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments’ full report (PDF) has now been published and includes the following conclusion: The Committee draws the special attention of both Houses to this draft Order on the grounds that, if it is approved and made, there will be a doubt whether it is intra vires, and that… Read More Committee draws probate fees legislation to UK parliament’s special attention
The UK government’s plan to increase probate fees has been criticised by the opposition in the House of Lords. Labour’s Justice Spokesperson, Lord Beecham, has tabled the following motion of regret in relation to The Non-Contentious Probate (Fees) Order 2018: ‘Lord Beecham to move that this House regrets that the draft Non-Contentious Probate (Fees) Order 2018… Read More UK Labour party tables motion against probate fees rise
The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has found that HMRC is failing to guarantee fairness for taxpayers by failing to differentiate between users of sophisticated tax avoidance schemes and ordinary citizens who break the law through uninformed or naive actions. In its report, The Powers of HMRC: Treating Taxpayers Fairly (PDF), the committee found… Read More House of Lords report criticises HMRC’s treatment of taxpayers
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