STROUD MP Neil Carmichael has welcomed radical changes to savings which have come into force this week.

From this week millions of savers across the country are able to save three times as much money in their ISAs. As part of the New ISA, the cash limit has gone up from £5,760 in 2013-14 to £15,000 in 2014-15.

The overall New ISA limit is £15,000 – and this full amount can be held in either a cash ISA, a stocks and shares ISA, or any combination of the two.

The New ISA will give savers complete flexibility over how to save and invest – allowing the transfer of savings previously held in a stocks and shares ISA to a cash ISA without losing the tax-advantage.

Over 23 million adults have ISAs, and over 5 million people reach their cash limit every year. In the South West, 2,171,000 people have an ISA. 463,000 people in the South West have already reached the ISA limit and could benefit immediately from the increased limit.

At the same time, the annual subscription limits for Child Trust Funds (CTFs) and Junior ISAs will be increased to £4,000 to let families save more for their children in a tax-advantaged way.

Commenting Neil Carmichael MP said: “These changes are about supporting savers at every stage – whether that’s saving for a home, saving for your family or saving for retirement.

“The New ISA will help millions of people putting aside money in savings have more financial security.”