There has long been a ‘north/south’ divide in the UK when it comes to house prices, but it seems that there is also a geographical link between the amount of savings that British households put aside.

New research from Halifax has found that people who live in the South East of England are better at saving money than those in other parts of the country; particularly those in the North.

Savings balances in the South all higher than the national average

The research from Halifax found that southerners are more likely to be benefiting from the best savings interest rates as they have higher average savings balances than those people in other parts of the country.

Savings balances in London, the South West, East Anglia and the South East are all higher than the national average, with people from the South East having the biggest average savings fund (at £6,653).

Regions in the south of England account for 32 of the top 50 postcode areas in the UK by ‘size of savings pot’. 19 of these postcode areas are in London with a further 12 in the South East, according to the Halifax research.

The bank also found that the East Midlands is the only region in the north of the country where people have been able to compare savings accounts and squirrel away savings above the national average.

The average savings pot in the UK is £6,074 compared to an average in the North of just £5,581 per person. No postcode in the North, Wales, Northern Ireland or the West Midlands featured in the top fifty.

Richmond and Scotland show people taking advantage of the best savings accounts

The survey also found that 12 of the top 50 areas for saving are in Scotland, with residents in the AB15 4 area of Aberdeen having put away a nest egg of £26,130; the second highest deposits of anywhere in the UK.

People who live in the TW10 6 area of Richmond Upon Thames had the highest overall savings levels at £29,765 – a staggering 380 per cent above the average for London.

People in HG2 8 in Harrogate have the highest savings levels in the North of England at an average of £18,380, while residents of Colwyn Bay have the most savings of people in Wales at around £14,433.

Chance for savers to increase their nest egg with new savings accounts for children

It is hoped that the announcement of new savings accounts for children – Junior ISAs – will encourage more households across the UK to put money aside. The scheme, to be launched in November 2011, will allow parents to invest up to £3,000 each tax year in a tax-free account. This account will then be transferred into a standard adult ISA on the child’s 18th birthday.

With dozens of banks and building societies expected to offer Junior ISAs, consumers are being urged to compare savings accounts in order to find the best savings accounts for children. There is likely to be stiff competition to attract savers to these new accounts, which can be opened for any child born before 1st September 2002 or after 2 January 2011.

Junior ISAs will replace ‘Child Trust Funds’ (CTFs) and the government is under pressure to allow existing CTFs to be transferred into a Junior ISA.