NEW concerns have been raised about the number of women in Scots prisons as two support programmes aimed at keeping hundreds out of jail have been revealed to be at risk.

The long term sustainability of Venture Trust’s successful Next Steps programme, designed to mentor women into work who are offenders or at high risk of becoming involved in crime, is under threat after its current funding comes to an end.

And Anne Pinkman, convenor of the Scottish Working Group on Women’s Offending, has raised concerns that a separate four-year-old national support project for women who offend is "uncertain" beyond 2018. It had been launched as a Public Social Partnership (PSP) with funding from the Scottish Government, Scottish Prison Service and the Robertson Trust.

In a report for Scottish Justice Matters she raised worries that "funding for services, even when they can evidence positive outcomes is a real issue".

While an additional £1.5 million has been available annually since 2012 from the Scottish Government which has led to the development of women's centres around Scotland, Ms Pinkman says it has resulted in centres that "vary considerably in their size, locations and service provision".

Official figures show that the number of women held in custody in recent months increased from a low of 316 in January 2017 to almost 380 during the first week of April 2017.

David Strang, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said earlier this month that given a revamp of the female custodial estate will provide only 230 places, "much work is still required" to reduce the numbers in custody, ahead of a new prison opening in 2020.

The Commission on Women Offenders, which was established to look at ways to improve life for women in the justice system made 37 recommendations for change in a 2012 report focussing on service redesign, alternatives to prosecution and alternatives to remand.

The commission recommended that support centres for women offenders should be established across the country staffed by multi disciplinary teams including mental health provision.

The Venture Trust’s successful Next Steps programme, was previously funded by the Big Lottery is now desperate for a new source of finance.

Neil Ratley of Venture Trust said: "Without a new source of funding for the Next Steps programme, hundreds of Scottish women won’t have access to a successful programme breaking the cycle of reoffending and helping them into employment.

"Scotland continues to have one of the highest rates of imprisonment for women in Northern Europe. And often the majority of women going through the criminal justice system hail from disadvantaged backgrounds, often suffering from a range of issues including abuse, addiction, poor mental health and a history of care experience.

"Many of the women who end up in prison are either on remand or serving sentences for minor, non-violent offences. This puts a significant strain on the Scottish economy, taxpayers and the overloaded prison service.

"Through our Next Steps programme we support women, from across Scotland, whose chaotic and disadvantaged backgrounds have led to their involvement in offending or put them at high risk of re/offending."

Last year, 387 women took part in Next Steps, an increase of 23 per cent from the previous year, with referrals from over 100 different organisations across Scotland.

Issues faced by the women included unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse, previous offences, mental health issues and disability and long term health issues.

The Trust says that this showed the programme was reaching those "most in need" and most likely to end up in the criminal justice system.

An independent study has found 75 per cent of the women who have taken part in the programme are less likely to reoffend and 83 per cent of women are more likely to get a job.

The Trust says that in the past three years, 143 women have started jobs or have begun education, training or volunteering after taking part in the Next Steps programme.

Ms Pinkman added: "Above all it is abundantly clear that the solution to women’s offending lies outwith the criminal justice system, and much more requires to be done on justice reinvestment and prevention.

"Resources must be directed at preventative measures to ensure women (and men) are not unnecessarily caught up in the criminal justice system. One woman recently stated to me, “I should not have had to break a window to get the help I needed”.