THE number of women in prison on remand in Scotland has doubled since 2000 despite pledges to reduce the figure.

The governor of Cornton Vale prison also revealed yesterday two-thirds of inmates are mothers with children under 18. Since 2008, 33 babies have been born while their mother was in Cornton Vale, with 22 removed from their mothers at birth, at the direction of the relevant local authority.

Speaking at the first annual Female Offenders Conference in Edinburgh, governor Kate Donegan revealed there are currently 97 women in prison untried in Scotland and the numbers on remand have almost doubled in the past 13 years.

The Elish Angiolini Commission called for courts to consider alternatives to remand and for less women to be sent to prison.

Its report found only 30% of those sent to Cornton Vale on remand receive a custodial sentence, and 25% of the population of the jail is on remand, compared to 18% in male prisons.

However, yesterday's figures show the female remand population has continued to rise. The latest figures show there are 425 women behind bars and a further 33 who have been released on a tag.

Ms Donegan said: "Some 16,500 children each year in Scotland are directly affected by parental imprisonment - more than are affected by divorce. Fifty per cent of looked-after children go on to receive custodial sentences. Only 2% go on to further education.

"Approximately 30% of ­children with imprisoned parents will develop physical and mental health problems and there is a higher risk of these children also ending up in prison."

In 1999 the then chief inspector of prisons, Clive Fairweather, called for the female prison population - then at 200 - to be reduced to 100.

Cornton Vale currently holds 309 women, with a further 132 held in units at Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Inverness and Greenock prisons.

Another former prisons inspector, Andrew MacLennan, said Cornton Vale was not an appropriate place to hold women who predominantly suffered mental health or addiction issues.

Members of the Angiolini Commission discovered during their investigation there was an 80% reoffending rate for prisoners sentenced to six months or less - and 75% of women receive such short terms.

Their recommendations were accepted by the Scottish Government and work is under way to deliver on them. More than 150 women have been moved to units in other prisons such as Edinburgh.

Speaking at the conference, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said that to deliver change he has established a Ministerial Group on Offender Reintegration which will be looking for "practical changes, targeted to the individual, which will enhance the way that justice and universal services respond to the needs of offenders".

He said: "We all understand that for some women offenders, a prison sentence is entirely appropriate - to recognise the seriousness of their crime, or to protect the public.

"But for the majority of women offenders, an appropriate and robust community sentence will provide the best chance for her to pay back to her community for the harm she has caused."