GLASGOW will be hardest hit when the new welfare reforms come into effect.

And the impact on the Scottish economy could be far higher than previously thought.

Research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament's Welfare Reform Committee shows the cuts will cost £650 a year for every adult of working age in Glasgow.

This compares to a national average of £480 – and puts Glasgow second to only Birmingham within Britain in terms of financial loss.

The study, by Sheffield Hallam University, estimates the welfare reforms will remove more than £1.6 billion from the Scottish economy a year.

Committee Convener, Michael McMahon MSP, said: "Our Committee wanted a detailed picture of what would happen on the ground when these reforms were fully implemented.

"It is obvious to all that the impact is dramatic – and more so in the areas that can least afford it."

The research also details the number of households affected by each part of the welfare system and its impact.

It shows that although Child Benefit changes affect the largest number of households, the largest financial impact is on those in receipt of incapacity benefits and Disability Living Allowance.

Deputy Convener, Jamie Hepburn MSP, added: "Our figures also show that the changes to Tax Credits affect more people more significantly than the 'bedroom tax'."

The research focused on adults of working age, as this is the group most affected by welfare reforms.

It concludes that more than £1.6bn a year will be taken out of the Scottish economy when the reforms come fully into effect.

This is considerably higher than previous estimates, as this research takes into account the impact of reforms on payments of incapacity benefits, Tax Credits and Child Benefit.

Professor Steve Fothergill, who, together with Professor Christina Beatty, conducted the research, said: "It is important that the impact on different places is fully exposed because this is a key dimension that is too often overlooked.

"The impact on different places is also one of the yardsticks by which the reforms should be judged."

It is estimated the reforms will cost Glasgow almost £270 million a year, equivalent to £650 a year for every adult of working age in the city.

This compares to £630 for Inverclyde; £600 for Dundee; and £600 for West Dunbartonshire, the three other worst affected parts of Scotland.

Glasgow ranks 23rd out of 379 'districts' across Britain in terms of the financial loss per working adult, with Dundee 51st, Edinburgh 238th and Aberdeen 299th.

The report claims the overall scale of the financial loss in Glasgow will be second only to Birmingham, which has a substantially larger population.

Meanwhile, protesters have urged Glasgow Housing Association not to evict tenants who can't afford rent as a result of the bedroom tax.

Campaign group West of Scotland Anti Bedroom Tax Federation hosted demonstrations outside GHA offices in Trongate in Glasgow city centre and Castlemilk.

Group spokesman Luke Ivory said: "We are calling on GHA to commit to a no evictions policy and to meet with tenants to hear their concerns about evictions."

Following the demonstration, a spokesman for GHA said: "We've raised our concerns with Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, at a private meeting in London and we are continuing to lobby for changes to the UK Government's welfare reform agenda.

"We're doing absolutely everything we can to help those tenants who are affected by these welfare changes. We'll work on a case-by-case basis to offer expert welfare and money advice."