The SNP Government's U-turn on its plan to build a new female super prison in Inverclyde is welcome.

That they have listened to the calls from Scottish Labour and campaign groups including the Howard League for Penal Reform and Women for Independence is a good thing.

But SNP ministers can't pat themselves on the back and move on. Scrapping the flawed prison plans is just the start.

We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reform the criminal justice system for women.

Scottish Labour led the calls for the new female super prison to be scrapped based on the evidence. Dr Richard Simpson, Scottish Labour's health spokesperson and a psychiatrist for 23 years in Cornton Vale women's prison, has campaigned on this issue for years. He resigned twice from the staff of the prison, so appalled was he by the conditions.

Scotland's female prison population has doubled since the Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999. Yet in that time overall crime levels have fallen.

Sending more and more women to jail isn't working. It has a devastating impact on families that can last for generations. Too often it's the children who suffer.

When a man goes to jail, in more than nine out of ten cases their children live with their mum. Yet when a woman goes to prison, just 17 per cent of kids go on to live with their dads. That means far greater numbers of children who are "looked after", whether in care or elsewhere.

When I visited the 218 Project in Glasgow last week, I heard the real-life stories of women who'd spent their lives in and out of jail. That's a cycle of reoffending that was only broken when the sheriff finally sentenced the women to the 218 services.

Looking at communities based alternatives to jail doesn't make you soft on crime. I want people who commit a crime to pay back society for their offence.

But putting women behind bars isn't always the best solution. In fact, the reoffending rates are so high compared to women who serve community sentences that jailing women isn't effective and doesn't cut down on crime.

For many women the 218 Project is the hard option. It forces them to look at themselves at close quarters and address the roots of their offending. For some it's an addiction to drink or drugs. For others it's a cycle of theft to feed their addictions, or those of their partner. In many cases there is an abusive partner involved.

Whilst it doesn't excuse any crime, a high proportion of female offenders come from chaotic backgrounds themselves. It's the cycle of generational crime that we need to stop.

One stark example was a woman charged and put on remand. She was there for eight weeks and, during that time, her children were taken into care. It took her three years to get her children back. Imagine the damage, the stigma, and the broken relationships. It's the kids who pay the heaviest price.

In 2012 Dame Elish Angiolini, the former Lord Advocate, published a groundbreaking report on women prisoners. It said there are more children in Scotland affected by a parent in jail than by divorce. The impact is particularly on their mental health and educational achievement.

If we are serious about tackling the deep roots of educational inequality we must get serious about the issue of children affected by parental imprisonment. Scottish Labour will lay out our ideas in the Parliament this week where we have devoted our debate time to discuss female offending.

When Dame Elish reported in 2012 the Scottish Government welcomed its determination to focus on building on community based alternatives.

They awarded £3 million to 16 organisations across the country. That money is set to run out on March 31 but these organisations need support.

That issue, as well as fundamental reform of how Scotland's criminal justice system deals with female offenders and their families, is what Scottish Labour will pursue in the coming days and weeks.