It has never been more important for contractors and other professionals to put aside money for their children's future, one financial expert has claimed.

Simon Hartshorn, marketing manager at Family Investments, said that with the sharply rising cost of university tuition fees, there has never been a more important time to save.

He added that at the moment, it is near impossible for young people to get on the property ladder - another reason to put aside money for the future.

"It can take parents a lot of time to build up a sum to even help their children to achieve this," said Mr Hartshorn.

In other financial advice, John Whiting, tax policy director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, has claimed that contractors must take an interest in tax.

Mr Whiting said not enough people take a proper interest in their tax payments and they should not simply trust the tax man to get it right.