Citizen’s Advice Scotland chief executive Derek Mitchell blasted the cuts to benefits.
He said: “It’s important to understand the context of this. The cost of living crisis hasn’t gone away.
“There are no circumstances in which ill and disabled people should bear the brunt of the problems in the wider economy.
“It’s in all of our interests to ensure the system works and is properly funded. We need more investment in social security, not less. The cuts announced today are in complete contradiction to this and will only cause more hardship and harm.”
The cuts to benefits come as part of £14billion of cuts and other money-saving measures announced by Ms Reeves in the House of Commons.
The Chancellor set out the swingeing cuts to meet her “non-negotiable” rule of balancing day-to-day spending against tax income.
But she was forced to admit inflation would be higher during 2025 than planned, rising from 2.6 per cent to 3.2 per cent according to official forecasts.
The OBR said higher energy and food prices and “more persistently high wage growth” will cause inflation to hit a peak of 3.7% in the middle of this year.
The economy will also grow by just 1 per cent of GDP instead of 2 per cent – a major blow to the government which promised growth as part of its sell to voters at last year’s general election.
Ms Reeves said: “I am not satisfied with these numbers.
“That is why we on this side of the house are serious about taking the action needed to grow our economy. Backing the builders, not the blockers.”
Despite the dramatic downgrade in 2025, she said the OBR had upgraded its forecasts for subsequent years with GDP expected to increase by 1.9% in 2026, 1.8% in 2027, 1.7% in 2027 and 1.8% in 2029.
Ms Reeves also said that overall, day-to-day spending will be reduced by £6.1 billion by 2029/30 and it will now grow by an average of 1.2% a year above inflation, down from the 1.3% forecast at the time of the budget.
It is not yet clear how that could impact Scottish spending due to it being unclear on which departments the cuts will fall and whether they are devolved or reserved areas.
