Female offender inquiry to begin

The lord advocate has raised concern over numbers of women behind bars

A Scottish Parliament inquiry into female offenders is getting under way, amid concern that too many are being sent to prison.

Holyrood's equal opportunities committee will look into whether female prisoners get enough help to keep them from reoffending on their release.

MSPs will kick off the inquiry by taking evidence from Scottish Prison Service chief Mike Ewart.

The committee will also assess alternatives to jail for women.

The inquiry came after the committee last year looked into the high number of inmates at Scotland's only women's prison, Cornton Vale, near Stirling.

There has been about a 90% rise in the number of women being sent there over the past 10 years, compared with a 16% rise for the male prisoner population.

Scotland's top prosecutor, Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, previously told the committee there was a "very, very real concern" about the number of women in prison and that they were suffering.

She has drawn a link between increasing levels of violence among females and problems with binge drinking in young women.

The committee will also question Scottish Government justice officials.