Three in four people are currently saving as more start to embrace the idea of saving for the long term, a report has found.

Some 74% of people surveyed for Scottish Widows said they are putting money aside, up from 63% when the same question was asked in 2010.

The average amount that people have in short and long term savings across the UK is also increasing, and stands at £32,407, marking a 7% or £2,232 year-on-year increase.

People living in the south east of England were found to have the highest amount saved typically, at £43,229, while people in Yorkshire and the Humber had the lowest average savings at £23,834.

One fifth (20%) of people surveyed said they are saving for just the short-term, while a slightly lower proportion (17%) said they are only saving for the long term and another 37% said they were saving for both.

The research, which was carried out among 5,000 people in autumn last year, found a growing awareness of the importance of preparing for the long term. The proportion of people choosing to focus just on long-term saving or a mixture of short and long-term saving has increased from 44% in 2010 to 54% by last autumn.

In 2013, 51% of people were either saving solely for the long-term or saving for the short and the long term.

The savings amounts included in the research refer to savings and investments that can be accessed easily, such as deposit savings, shares, Isas and premium bonds. They exclude property and pension savings.

The report suggested that changes to Isas have helped to change people's mind sets about long-term savings, as have pension reforms.

An overhaul of Isas last year made the Isa allowance, which is ringfenced from the taxman, more generous and more flexible, with savers now being able to hold all of their allowance in cash, all in stocks and shares, or any combination of the two.

The Government also announced changes in the Autumn Statement last December which mean that people can inherit their spouse's Isa wrapper. Previously, when a person died the savings in their Isa had lost their tax-free status and their spouse started paying tax on that money.

But the changes mean that if an Isa holder dies, they can now pass on their Isa benefits to their spouse or civil partner via an additional Isa allowance which they will be able to use from April 6.

The surviving spouse or civil partner will be allowed to invest as much into their own Isa as their spouse used to have, in addition to their normal annual Isa limit.

Meanwhile, the introduction of automatic enrolment in to workplace pensions in 2012 has sparked debate about people's long term savings and how much they need to live on for a comfortable retirement, and recent research suggests that young people in particular are gaining an appetite for pension saving. Further pension reforms will be introduced in April, which will give people freedom to spend their pension pots how they wish.

But despite the increase in people saving, 26% of people surveyed for Scottish Widows said they are saving nothing at the moment and 18% said they have no savings at all.

One third (33%) of people also said that they are not saving enough to meet their long-term needs. Some 23% of those surveyed said they would be inclined to save more if savings options were generally easier to understand.

Savers have continued to suffer from poor-paying accounts in recent years as the Bank of England base rate has remained at a historic 0.5% low.

The average interest paid on the Isas currently on offer is just 1.44%, down from 1.65% a year earlier, according to figures released by financial information website Moneyfacts last month.

David Lascelles, savings expert at Scottish Widows, said: "It has been a watershed year in the savings landscape and the study reflects to some extent the effect that landmark changes have had on people's mind set.

"Greater flexibility on savings vehicles including Isas and pensions as well as reforms to how savings can be passed on provide more incentives to put money away for the longer term.

"The increase in long-term savers suggests more people understand the need to prepare for their financial future."

Here are the average amounts that people said they had saved on a regional basis, according to the research from Scottish Widows:

:: North East, £25,967

:: North West, £29,448

:: Yorkshire and the Humber, £23,834

:: East Midlands, £29,781

:: West Midlands, £33,313

:: East of England, £36,304

:: London, £34,380

:: South East, £43,229

:: South West, £29,367

:: Wales, £30,544

:: Northern Ireland, £25,182