Pauline McNeill
Scottish Labour · Scotland
“Does she welcome what I am setting out to do in providing an expansion in GPS technology for bail management and home detention curfew, in order to give reassurance around the community management of offenders? Pauline McNeill: Yes, I do. I would like an early indication of additional investment in GPS technology.”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗
“I have consistently raised my concerns about prisoners not being guaranteed time out of their cells, and a number of prisoners have written to me, as a criminal justice spokesperson, because they cannot get access to the rehabilitation programmes that it is vital for them to do in order to be considered for release back into the community…”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗
“Scottish Labour welcomes the opportunity to have an early discussion on the state of the Scottish prison system. There is a lot in the amendments from the other parties with which we agree. We have just heard a considerable announcement. I will address some of it, albeit briefly.”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗
“The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has just taken up his post, and I respect the fact that he is at least attempting to put some bold proposals out there. I will address some of them briefly. Changing the definition of long-term sentences from more than four years to more than five years has serious implications.”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗
“What investment is the Scottish Government prepared to make to commit in the longer term to robust alternatives, such as GPS monitoring, which is referred to in the Scottish Labour amendment, to ensure that communities are safe? I do not mind saying that I have had this conversation with many previous cabinet secretaries.”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗
“On the release of long-term prisoners at 60 per cent or two thirds of their sentence, when I was not in Parliament, one of the big issues around the release of long-term prisoners was that the public thought that a prisoner’s sentence would be served in jail, and nobody could really follow the number of years that they would spend there.”
Scottish Parliament25 June 2026Source ↗