Parents living in the East Midlands were least likely to offer financial support to their offspring with 40% saying they had not – and did not intend to – offered a boost onto the housing ladder.

Two fifths (39%) of those living in the North East said they didn’t intend to or couldn’t offer help and this was closely followed by the North West where 37% said the same. More than a third of parents and grandparents (35%) living in Yorks and Humber, West Midland and East of England agreed.

The poll of 2,100 people for Royal London showed that not all parents are willing or able to act as the Bank of Mum & Dad to help their kids own their first home.

However, a large proportion are still willing and able to provide assistance to cash strapped family members. Royal London found parents in London were most likely to want or be able to help their offspring with 39% saying they either had or intended to help their children with a property purchase.

Of those who said they had helped or planned to help, 37% said they expected the amount provided to be less than £10,000. A further 28% said they had, or expected to provide somewhere between £10,000 and £20,000 to family members.

But one in ten (11%) of those who had or planned to provide financial assistance said they had a figure in excess of £50,000 in mind.

For the majority of parents (57%), they consider the money as a gift so it doesn’t need to be repaid but 27% said the money should be seen as an advance on inheritance. Only 15% said they expected the money to be repaid.

Royal London personal finance specialist, Helen Morrissey, said: “The rising phenomenon of the Bank of Mum & Dad has received much publicity but the findings make clear that not all parents have, or are willing, to offer financial support to children.

“There are several reasons for this. House prices in areas such as the North West and East Midlands are much lower than in areas such as London so it may be the case that parents and grandparents feel their family members do not need their support as much as in other areas of the UK.

“It may also be the case that these people have other demands on their money and cannot simply hand it over. Anyone looking to hand over money to help a loved one needs to ensure they take their own future needs into account before doing so as they do not want to leave themselves short of money at a later date.”

See YourMoney.com’s Help your kids buy a house without handing over stacks of cash for more information.