Chancellor called upon to give savers a boost

David Cutter, chairman of the Building Societies Association has called on the Chancellor to bring forward proposals to help savers in the Autumn Statement on 5 December.

"Savers remain the bedrock on which our lending industry is based, and it is therefore vital to encourage and foster a long term savings culture," Mr Cutter said.

He wants an increase in the subscription limit on Cash ISAs to equal that of equity ISAs. He also wants to allow transfers between ISAs and allow Child Trust Funds to be transferred to Junior ISAs. Finally he's called for a Government First ISA Scheme to incentivise the savings culture in the UK.

Meanwhile savers have been given a tiny ray of hope by Bank of England Governor Mark Carney who said that interest rates may rise sooner than expected.

But Sylvia Waycot of Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: "While many will hope that a rate rise will automatically revive the savings market they could find themselves disappointed, because for savings rates to really rise the banks and building societies need to want our money.

"The unpalatable truth is that, while the Funding for Lending Scheme is with us, our savings are of little importance."