Nationwide Building Society has called on the Chancellor ahead of next week’s Budget  to reform the Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) system and do more to encourage children and parents to save.

The society is a keen supporter of Government initiatives that encourage the savings habit and hopes Alistair Darling will take the practical steps needed to ensure the Government’s stated aims in these areas are met.

Nationwide welcomes the Government’s commitment to encouraging and promoting saving through ISAs, but believes the system could be simplified and made more flexible.

The Society is calling for a withdrawal buffer that allows savers to make withdrawals and replenish their ISA within the same tax year, saying this would particularly help people on lower incomes. It also wants the subscription limits on cash and stocks and shares ISAs to be equalised and the limits to be linked to inflation to ensure their true value is maintained.

Graham Beale, Nationwide’s chief executive, said: “Alistair Darling has an opportunity to introduce changes that can make a real difference to people’s wealth in his first Budget as Chancellor.

“The ISA system has proved to be a success with over 16 million accounts in operation, but more can be done to encourage consumers to use their ISA allowance and embrace the tax-efficient benefits they bring.”