The proposed British ISA has been scrapped as part of today’s Autumn Budget, in a move which some analysts have celebrated.

The British ISA would have given savers an additional £5,000 tax-free investment allowance, on top of the usual £20,000 ISA allowance.

It was designed to boost investment in UK companies.

However, director of public policy at AJ Bell, Tom Selby, said that the proposal was a "political gimmick that was always doomed to fail", which AJ Bell had previously opposed.

Furthermore, he added that the British ISA would have "layered extra complexity on an already complicated ISA landscape".

Following the scrapping of the British ISA, AJ Bell has said it gives the Chancellor an opportunity for "radical ISA simplification".

Selby added: "Merging cash and stocks and shares ISAs is the obvious starting point, a reform that would make life easier for investors and would-be investors and could provide a significant boost to UK capital markets at the same time. Over the longer-term, the Government should consider whether the best features of the current ISA regime can be combined into a single ISA product.

"The benefits of simplification for consumers and the UK economy could be substantial. In particular, merging cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs – the two most popular ISA products in the UK – would make it easier for those holding money in cash ISAs to transition towards long-term investing."

However, the move has not been welcomed by all.

Managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, Darius McDermott, concluded: "Finally, savers got a win with the ISA allowance staying intact, but the phase-out of the British ISA, alongside a lack of fresh incentives to drive investment in UK public companies, leaves room for disappointment."

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