I’ve learned much in my first year as Chair of STEP England and Wales. The most impressive thing I’ve seen remains something that I already knew existed; the passion and dedication of our members.

The E&W Committee are looking at how we can increase support at a local level. Getting new members involved remains the lifeblood of the Society. Those attending STEP’s global Branch Chairs’ Assembly recently will have heard the inspirational Tiger de Souza, Director of Volunteering at The National Trust, giving us an insight into increasing volunteer participation. I’m sure many will be implementing the lessons we learned from him.

2019 has been another year of significant policy developments. The planned increase in probate fees didn’t happen. This was due, in large part, to work done by STEP’s policy and communications teams and E&W former Chair Rita Bhargava TEP, whose persuasive arguments convinced the government to think again.

Many of our UK Practice Committee members’ terms are coming to an end shortly. We’re delighted that they have joined the new UK Advisory Group, which will replace the current committee. This will allow E&W to retain access to their collective knowledge, experience and capability for drafting the articles, practice notes and briefings that many of us have referenced over the years.

The UK Technical Committee, has continued to keep pace with changes to tax and legislation proposed by the government. Led by Robin Vos TEP, this committee has responded to a number of consultations on behalf of STEP. We’re lucky to have them overseeing the interests of our members and the public at large.

E&W Committee has been looking at embedding our standards for tax planning into our everyday practice. STEP’s Professional Standards committee are developing a toolkit that will enable you to demonstrate your compliance with these high standards. The first annual report, Professional Conduct in Relation to Tax, has been drafted and will be published imminently.

In September, Professor Stephen Mayson published his interim report regarding the review of legal services regulation in England and Wales. STEP has considered the proposals and Amanda Simmonds TEP and Rita Bhargava will be responding to the consultation on our behalf.

It’s been a good year for STEP, with 2020 shaping up with more exciting things to come. My thanks to Mark Walley and the STEP staff for all their hard work, as well as to the members of the E&W Committee.  Most of all, thanks to all the Society’s members and volunteers throughout E&W, without whom there would be no STEP. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can throughout 2020.

 

Denese Molyneux TEP, Chair, STEP England and Wales Regional Committee