Dear Supporters,
As we welcome the summer months, it is important to take care of your health and wellbeing. For families supporting a loved one through the criminal justice system, it is equally important to be kind to yourself and make time for self-care. Whether that means going for a walk, reading a book, enjoying a favourite hobby, spending time with family and friends, or simply taking a moment to relax.
We are currently trialling alternative days and evening sessions for our online Group Gatherings to make them more accessible to families. Members of the AFFECT team will also be taking turns to host the sessions, and we hope you enjoy the opportunity to meet more of our dedicated team.
We would like to extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks to Brenda for her long-standing support and dedication in hosting the Group Gatherings. Her commitment, compassion and support have made a lasting difference to many families over the years.
If you are new to AFFECT, or if you haven’t attended Group Gatherings. We invite you to discover why these sessions have become such a valued source of support, connection and understanding for so many families. These online sessions are designed to bring families and individuals together in a supportive environment where you can connect, learn, and feel heard.
Attendees often use this space to:
• Connect with other families who understand similar experiences and challenges.
• Access helpful information about resources and services that can support their loved ones and help to navigate the criminal justice system.
• Share feelings and personal stories in a safe, non-judgmental space that encourages openness, creativity and understanding.
• Gain reassurance and community, knowing they’re not navigating things alone.
Because the gatherings are remote, joining is easy no travel, no pressure, just a welcoming space to learn and connect whenever you can.
We are delighted to introduce a new Telephone Support Worker Michelle to the Affect team. We hope your time with the organisation is productive and mutually beneficial.
If you are in a position to do so, we would be deeply grateful if you would consider making a small regular donation, such as £5 per month, to help us continue this vital work. Thank you to everyone who has already given so generously. Your kindness makes a real difference. Please also reach out if you feel you may be able to support us in any way.
Please note the next Group Gathering will take place via Zoom date to be confirmed (invitation only).
Love, Shannel Project Manager
Thought for the day:
“Deep in your wounds are seeds, waiting to grow beautiful flowers”
– Niti Majethia
Volunteering Opporunties:
- Treasurer
- Telephone Support Worker
- Fundraiser
If you are interested in the role or would like to learn more, please email your CV and a supporting statement outlining your reasons for applying:
What the Courts and Tribunals Bill Means for Defendants
By Felix Affect Trustee
A System Under Strain
The Courts and Tribunals Bill, introduced in February 2026, represents the most significant reform of the criminal justice system in a generation. The stated aim is to deliver faster justice and address the mounting backlog of cases. However, this comes with a limitation to the right to be tried by jury for some. The criminal justice system is operating under considerable pressure. There are around 80,000 cases waiting today, 20,000 of these having waited over a year. The government estimates that the average Crown Court case now takes 255 days to complete, and without systemic change, it is predicted that these wait times will increase exponentially. It is within the context of this systemic crisis that the government is urged to consider drastic reform.
What Will Change?
The most significant development for defendants is the creation of a new Bench Division. Cases carrying a likely sentence of three years or less will be heard by a judge sitting alone, rather than by a jury. This new process is estimated to take approximately 20% less time than a conventional jury trial. For defendants facing mid-range offences, this represents a considerable departure from established practice. The legislation further provides that lengthy and technical fraud cases may potentially be heard by a judge alone.
What Will Stay the Same?
The government has been keen to emphasise what will not change under the proposed reforms. Jury trials will be guaranteed for the most serious offences, including rape, murder, aggravated burglary, blackmail, people trafficking, grievous bodily harm and the most serious drug offences. For defendants facing the gravest charges, therefore, the right to trial by jury is preserved. This is, in any event, where the protection of the jury is most required.
Final Thoughts
In terms of the timeline, the bill is currently at the Report Stage. It must pass a Third Reading in the House of Commons, pass through the House of Lords and receive Royal Assent. Given the current backlash to the proposed changes, there is no guarantee that this bill will become an Act of Parliament. History has also shown that the government is reluctant to make such drastic changes, despite threatening to do so. The Courts and Tribunals Bill attempts to strike a difficult balance in reforming a criminal justice system in crisis, whilst not entirely doing away with the right to be tried in front of a jury. For defendant’s, the central question is whether speed and efficiency are being prioritised at the expense of fairness.
James Timpson: “I can see the positive in people where other maybe can’t”
Reported by The Observer Walk 03.05.26
Political editor: Rachel Sylvester
On a stroll around Styal jail in Cheshire, the prisons minister discusses jobs for ex offenders, support for women prisoners and why he has no political ambitions.
James Timpson, the UK Prisons Minister, developed an early passion and fascination of the criminal justice system through his parents’ dedication for fostering children whose mothers were often imprisoned. As a child, he often accompanied his mother to Styal Prison, where children in their care were supported to maintain contact with their mothers while in custody. He and his siblings, Victoria and Edward, would stay in the car.
“We used to sit there, fight and listen to Abba on the cassette player. I remember being intrigued by what happened beyond the big wall.”
He would wonder about the “really bad things” the prisoners must have done.
“I think we were too young to really understand,” he says. My mum would explain that she was helping children and helping to keep families together. It was just part of life.
Over 30 years, the Timpson family fostered more than 90 vulnerable and traumatised children. “We had to share everything,” the minister says. “The foster children used to turn up in the middle of the night so we’d wake up in the morning and new people would be having breakfast wearing our clothes.” He never resented it. “That’s not my personality. It was brilliant, chaotic, probably a bit eccentric but it was normal to us.
These experiences shaped Timpson’s commitment to rehabilitation and reducing reoffending. In his family business, he actively employed former offenders. When accepting the role of Prisons Minister in 2024, he requested that “reducing reoffending” be included in his ministerial title. During a visit to Styal Prison, Timpson reflected on how many of the same challenges remain decades later, with many women trapped in cycles of criminality, addiction, poor mental health, and abuse. He highlighted that around 80% of women arriving at Styal have drug or alcohol addictions, and a similar proportion experience mental health difficulties. Self harm is also a significant concern. One prisoner bangs her head so hard against the wall of her cell that she repeatedly ends up in hospital.
Timpson advocates for greater use of rehabilitation and community-based alternatives to custody for women, arguing that many female prisoners have experienced trauma, domestic abuse, and associated mental health issues. He has expressed a desire to close at least one women’s prison and focus on more effective support services.
The impact on families, particularly children, remains a key concern. More than half of women in prison are mothers. At Styal, two are pregnant and there are three mothers with newborns. “It’s the impact on the kids that I always think about here,” Timpson says. He emphasised the importance of breaking this cycle to improve outcomes for future generations.
The government has commissioned an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to examine whether restraints have been used appropriately during pregnancy, after reports of prisoners being shackled in labour.
Timpson says women should never be giving birth in handcuffs. “I am a husband and a father and when a child is born it is not just about the child, it’s about the experience of the mother too. It’s a traumatic period and it’s just not right.” During the visit to Styal Prison’s induction wing, Timpson spoke with newly arrived prisoners. One woman explained that she was serving her 25th sentence for shoplifting, describing how repeated releases without stable housing had contributed to her ongoing cycle of offending. She said that the women in prison were the closest thing she had to a family.
Prison News
New guidelines for supporting prisoners who have been in care as children
Reported by InsideTime 18.05.2026
The Ministry of Justice has published guidelines for prisons, youth custody facilities and probation on support for those who have previously broken the law and previously been in care of the local authorities when young.
It sets out minimum standards required.
The guidance requires governors, directors and service leaders to identify care experienced prisoners, and ensure staff understand the challenges they may face coping in custody after their experiences as children.
It highlights that many care-experienced individuals have experienced trauma, disturbances and without family support during childhood, which can have a lifelong impact on their behaviour. Whilst most people who have lived through this never offend, the guidance recognises that these vulnerabilities can increase the risk of reoffending.
The guidance also stresses the need for sensitive and confidential identification processes and requires each establishment to appoint a specialist lead for care experienced support. Prisons are encouraged to establish care-experienced work groups and strengthen links with community organisations to help people access support and improve outcomes when leaving custody.
License Changes
Reported by UNGRIPP
Licence changes diagram- June 2026.pdf
These changes will be implemented on 1st June 2026
First release
The Two-Year Eligibility Point (both DPP & IPP) You become eligible for a licence review exactly TWO years after your first release from prison, regardless of any recalls.
In Prison
If you are in prison on recall at the two-year eligibility point, your release AND your licence will be decided at your next Parole hearing. The Parole Board may decide to:
• Keep you in prison
• Release you on licence
• Release you with no licence (very unlikely).
In the Community
If you are in the community at the two-year eligibility point the Parole Board will review your licence and decide whether to:
• Leave your licence in place
• Vary your licence conditions
• Remove your licence
No change to Licence If your licence is left in place – you:
a. You must serve a further two years in the community without any recalls or new offences for your licence to automatically terminate
or
b. An application to terminate your licence can be submitted to the Parole Board for review on an annual basis. This will have to be initiated by you and you have to be in the community in order to request this.
AFFECT needs your support!
I urge you to consider a donation, particularly a regular monthly amount, however small, e.g. £10 or £25.
Your contribution will help our service to continue to run efficiently and help others like you. Thank you for your generosity.
Research Projects
University of Strathclyde Glasgow
Hidden Voices perspective
When a family member is sent to prison, children are almost always affected – but how they find out about it may make a real difference. This research looks at what happens when children learn of a family member’s imprisonment: perhaps they are told openly from the start, perhaps a cover story is given, or maybe they piece it together on their own?
The study explores how these different experiences might shape the way children feel, think, and relate to others, both at the time and as they grow up. Ultimately, the aim is to provide practical guidance for families, prison visitor centre practitioners, and charities supporting families of imprisoned people.
Participation can be taken at one’s own pace, and all materials for the creative exercise are provided (including a notebook, stationery, and pre-paid return envelopes) so there is no cost to anyone taking part.
Both my supervisors and I are more than happy to answer any questions that may arise, so please feel free to give out my email (avery.hudman@strath.ac.uk) to any interested persons or any with queries.
The University of Nottingham
Research on the Impact of Maternal Incarceration in Childhood
Many adults in the UK grew up with a mother in prison, yet their long-term experiences remain largely unheard. This doctoral research explores how experiencing a mother’s imprisonment during childhood shapes adult relationships and personal growth. We are interested in both the challenges people may have faced and the ways they may have grown through their experiences. We are looking to hear from adults raised in the UK whose mothers served a prison sentence of at least six months during their childhood. Participation involves an anonymous online survey (approximately 10 minutes) and an optional follow-up interview. The study has received full ethical approval from the University of Nottingham (reference number: FMHS 145-0525). If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you!
If you would like to take part, please use the link https://forms.office.com/e/nmEmSLLL0i
Exploring the impacts that loved ones of people who have been remanded into custody may experience
My name is Jodie and I am currently recruiting participants for my master’s dissertation project exploring impacts that family members or loved ones of people on remand may experience. Participation will involve taking part in an online interview which will last 30 – 45 minutes.
Participants must be over the age of 18 and be a direct relative or romantic partner of someone who is currently remanded into custody. Participating in the study (or deciding not too) will have no impact on your relationship with the organisation.
*Content Warning* Please consider if you find the topic of the impact of a family member or loved one being on remand distressing or upsetting, you are encouraged not to take part.
If you are interested, please contact me at: jodie.tams@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Be Kind
By Naomi Shihab Nye
Be gentle with the ones you love,
but also be kind to your own self.
Kindness is a language that everyone understands,
even when they are hurting.
Data Protection
AFFECT keeps very limited information on our members, name, email, and telephone details. If you would like to be removed from our records, please email affectcharity@outlook.com
DISCLAIMER
From time-to-time, AFFECT is approached by media outlets, asking us to canvas our supporters for help with their studies and or programmes. We may forward their approach, and reasons, to our supporters, but ONLY by blind copy email. We NEVER divulge any contact details of AFFECT supporters. We leave it entirely to the discretion of you, our supporters to contact any such third party. In keeping our distance from those interested in research and or programmes related to our supporters’ concerns, we are drawing on long experience, that an approach initially presented as a genuine inquiry can turn out to be exploitative, and damaging.