NS&I, the Treasury-backed savings provider, is under pressure to raise nearly £15 billion from savers this financial year but is running well behind, taking in just £352 million in the first two months against £1.4 billion in the previous two. To attract deposits, it has unusually lifted rates across all its accounts since 1 April, even though the Bank of England base rate has stayed frozen at 3.75 per cent. Savings expert Sylvia Morris assesses which NS&I products are now worth buying and which to avoid.

Morris rates Premium Bonds a "buy" after the prize rate rose from 3.3 to 3.8 per cent, and recommends the Guaranteed Growth and Guaranteed Income Bonds, whose fixed rates (up to 4.69 per cent for one year) sit near the top of the best-buy tables, along with the 3.7 per cent Junior Isa. However, she warns that Growth Bond interest is paid at maturity and counts towards that year's personal savings allowance. She advises avoiding the Direct Isa (3.8 per cent) and Direct Saver (3.45 per cent), which trail rivals such as Trading 212 and Secure Trust, and dumping the Investment Account, which pays just 2.05 per cent.