Where are the safest places to put
my cash?

Northern Rock and National Savings & Investments are the only two UK-based institutions where deposits, no matter the amount, are fully backed by the government. However, savers with Irish banks also benefited this week when the government there said it would fully underwrite deposits held with the Allied Irish, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Nationwide Building Society and the Educational Building Society. This guarantee – which is in place until September 2010 – extends to all savers, no matter where they are based, and to subsidiaries of Irish banks in the UK, including the Post Office and Bristol & West.