Britain's benefits culture is 'unhealthy' and they must be curbed, admit Labour as the areas where more than one in ten residents are on jobless hand-outs is revealed
Ministers have admitted Britain's benefits culture must be curbed as a map showed the hotspots for unemployment claims.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden hinted at tightening eligibility for universal credit.
He also did not rule out ending health-related payments for claimants under the age of 22.
Rachel Reeves is desperately scrambling to find ways of balancing the books at the Budget in November.
But the last effort at reform was humiliatingly scuttled by Labour backbenchers. The scope for changes in the short-term have been limited by the government concession that the Timms review into Personal Independence Payment (Pip) will be completed before any new proposals.
Mr McFadden said: 'Look, I'm not ruling anything out. Welfare reform is really important.
'At the moment, this system is unhealthy for people and in the long run is pushing up the benefits bill because we're not getting the help to people who could work.'
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden hinted at tightening eligibility for universal credit
Mr McFadden said further changes could still happen before the Timms report — which is not due for another year.
'Welfare reform is happening all the time. Anyone who looks at the current system shouldn't conclude that the thing to do is to circle the wagons around it,' he added to the BBC.
Analysis by the House of Commons Library based on official figures has highlighted the worst areas for unemployment-related benefits, such as Jobseeker's Allowance and Universal Credit with a requirement to seek work.
In the Birmingham Perry Barr constituency 15.8 per cent of the population aged 16-64 were claiming as of August. They might be receiving top-up support rather than not having jobs.
Worryingly, the number of claimants aged 18-24 was up 9 per cent, or 26,550, over the year.
However, the overall UK claimant rate was down slightly from 4.1 per cent to 4 per cent since the previous August.
At the beginning of this month Mr McFadden was appointed to lead a new 'super ministry', incorporating the skills remit previously overseen by the Department for Education and focused on economic growth.
But the appointment of a man regarded as the Prime Minister's fixer has sparked speculation that Sir Keir could be planning another attempt to reform welfare after he was forced to abandon cuts planned earlier this year in the face of a backbench rebellion.
In a call with Department of Work and Pensions staff after his appointment, Mr McFadden focused on the need to ensure young people had the skills they needed to avoid a life on benefits.
Describing this as 'an early area of priority for me', he said the department needed to 'ask ourselves some tough questions' about the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training.
Rachel Reeves is scrambling to find ways of balancing the books at the Budget in November
He said: 'I know that a lot of you are engaged in helping people onto skills courses and helping people onto training courses, but I'm hoping that with the change in the department's responsibilities, we can really emphasise that more and give ourselves the ability to bring these things together in a new and good way.'
Last week, long-term government borrowing costs reached highs not seen since 1998 amid concern about ministers' ability to keep the public finances under control and a global bond sell-off.
But yields on 30-year government bonds, known as 'gilts', have since fallen back to last month's levels.
