Rachel Reeves tight-lipped, but difficult weeks lie ahead as Scotland braces for 'appalling' cuts

The Chancellor told journalists it was “absolutely clear” the benefits system does not work for anyone, and ministers need to “get a grip” on it.

“It is not working for people who need support, it’s not working to get people into work so that more people can fulfil their potential, and it’s not working for the taxpayer when the bill for welfare is going up by billions of pounds in the next few years,” she said during a visit to the Babcock dockyard in Rosyth on Friday.

“So we do need to get a grip. We need to spend more on national defence, but we need to reform our public services, and we need to reform our broken welfare system.”

Ms Reeves would not be drawn on the details. Asked to guarantee those who genuinely cannot work will not be worse off, she said she would not “pre-empt” the plans, which will be announced next week by UK work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall.

The Chancellor said 40 per cent of young disabled people in Scotland want to work, but do not. “That is a huge waste of talent and potential, and this UK government is determined to help people fulfil their potential and get into meaningful employment,” she said.

Ministers want to reduce the number of working-age people claiming benefits and encourage them into work, as part of wider plans to grow the economy.

Labour needs to see progress on the latter point. Official figures show Britain’s economy contracted in the first month of the year, surprising economists who had forecast a slight increase.

But there is growing unease among its MPs about where the cuts will fall, and the government is braced for a rebellion. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called the welfare system "indefensible, economically and morally".

All of this will have an impact north of the Border. Reported cuts to incapacity benefits will have a direct impact, while changes to Personal Independent Payment (PIP) would reduce the money available for devolved payments.

Then there is the political fallout. Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, is among those who have spoken out, insisting he is “absolutely appalled at the prospect of what is going to be coming”.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar wants to be the next first minister, but his party is suffering in the polls amid a raft of unpopular decisions down south. He could probably do without an internal row to add to his woes.

Mr Sarwar has backed welfare reform, saying Sir Keir Starmer’s government is taking the right approach. "It's clear that we have to get more people into work and we have to make sure that we have our public finances on a sustainable footing,” he said earlier this week.

But his opponents will stick the boot in. The SNP Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has already described the expected cuts as "turbo-charged austerity”.