The Bank of England is interested to hear from local people in County Durham about the impact of the cost of living on their finances, as part of their Citizens’ Forum programme which has been running across the UK since 2018.

The event is designed to gather information from local people, which will complement existing data and analysis, and help inform the Bank’s policy decisions. Monetary policy has been guided by the need to squeeze inflation out of the economy to achieve the 2% target, both in a timely manner and on a lasting basis. High inflation has affected everyone, but it particularly hurts those who can least afford it.

War in the Middle East has led to energy price rises and inflation will be higher than expected this year. We are monitoring the situation very closely, and at the June meeting the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintained Bank Rate at 3.75%.

The event in Durham on Thursday 6 August (6pm-8pm) will give attendees the opportunity to share their views with senior Bank officials supported by staff from the Bank’s Agency for the North East.

Entry is via pre-registration for forum members only, but anyone aged over 18 is eligible to join our community and register to attend the Durham panel session before Friday 17 July when registration closes.

Refreshments will be provided, and the Bank will make a payment of £25 to all attendees to cover expenses.