Campaigners and Scots politicians have demanded Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ditch plans for over £30bn of public spending cuts.
John Dickie of the Child Poverty Action Group said it would be "outrageous" to ask vulnerable people to shoulder the UK’s stricken public finances.
And STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer said another round of austerity would be a "shameful ploy from a shameful government".