Image source, Getty Images

Speaking today at the Anthropy conference in Cornwall, Labour's shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves will warn that another interest rate rise at 12:00 would hurt businesses and households, and hit growth in the economy.

She is expected to say: "Rising interest rates will mean families with already stretched budgets will be hit by higher mortgage payments. It will mean higher financing costs for businesses."

She will warn that it could mean lots of business owners face tough decisions about whether to carry on in the face of rising costs.

Ms Reeves will also suggest that the UK in particular is exposed to economic shocks because of "weak growth, low productivity and underinvestment and widening inequality", calling for a need for a "new spirit of partnership" between the government and businesses going forward.

Katie Thompson
BBC News

We have returned to Derby as part of our cost of living coverage to hear how rising interest rates will affect people in the city.

Becky Smith has been thinking about buying a property with her partner but admits she is now hesitant.

The 31-year-old says: "If things keep increasing the way they are, the likelihood is we won't... I think a lot of first-time buyers, especially at my age, are going to be in that position."

A former mortgage broker, Becky knows more than most how rising interest rates affect mortgages and says buying now would leave her with no "wiggle room" - her monthly payment would be £150 more.

"If it (mortgage rates) hits 6%, which we're not a million miles away from, it's not going to happen.

"I just want it to be affordable... to be able to buy a property and buy a home that I can work on but not have to watch every single penny and where it goes."

Image source, PA Media

With people counting the cost of climbing energy bills, inflation and interest rates, the head of Citizens Advice admits it is a worrying time for people dealing with the combination of pressures.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Dame Clare Moriarty feels they are a big set of issues, but insisted help is out there.

"Mortage lenders do have to consider how they can help people in financial difficulties," she says.

"This might be by payment deferals or removing additional fees and charges.

"So we would advise people coming to the end of a fixed-rate mortgage or coming to the end of a standard-rate mortage and seeing it about to go up and you're worried then to get in touch with your lender and explain your situation.

"We are asking lenders to be as understanding as possible can be to those facing financial difficulties.

"Help is available, don't struggle on your own.

BBC News are in Derby today to examine how the cost of living crisis is affecting people's lives.

The city in the east midlands is about average in terms of unemployment and weekly pay, but has higher rates of fuel poverty - while rent is below the average

We'll be bringing you their stories, analysis of what we can do to cope with rising prices and hopefully answer any questions you have for our experts, so stick with us.

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All households have been automatically getting a one-off £400 discount on their fuel bills from October.

Eight million low-income households who receive certain benefits or tax credits are receiving £650 in two payments.

Pensioner households will get £300 and some disabled people will be paid £150. This help is being partly funded by a temporary windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

In addition, vulnerable families can claim help through the Household Support Fund, external, and the Warm Home Discount, external scheme.

Energy companies also run hardship funds, although the regulator Ofgem warned that most firms need to do do more to help customers who are struggling.

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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is facing calls to go to the House of Commons and address mortgage-holders on how he plans to help them, if the Bank of England increases interest rates as expected later on today.

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokeswoman Sarah Olney said: "The chancellor must address the country immediately after the rate rise decision to spell out a plan to save homeowners on the brink.

"He should either come to Parliament or hold a press conference to announce support for families facing mortgage bill rises worth hundreds of pounds a month.

"People are desperately worried about how they are going to pay these frightening mortgage payments after tomorrow," she said.

How will you be affected by any change to interest rates? Share your experience by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk, external.

One question which is on many people's minds is why are prices rising - and when might they start to go down?

The BBC's economics editor Faisal Islam answers your inflation questions in 90 seconds

Emma Pengelly
BBC News

A rise in interest rates means those with savings will get more returns if the banks pass on the higher rates.

Peter, 70, a retired chartered accountant from Surrey, says it is “good news for me personally and for the country.

"I haven't got a mortgage, but when I did I paid rates of 15% not the 6% talked about now.

"My savings are being eroded because rates are so low.

"The low interest rates have meant people over-committed themselves to borrowing for houses they wouldn't have been able to afford.

"They did not take into account that interest rates may increase. By fuelling the housing market, house prices have increased which has added to the strain on housing.

Image source, Getty Images

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, says that the Bank of England is "likely to be divided" today, with some policymakers on its Monetary Policy Committee pushing for a smaller increase in the base rate of 0.5 percentage points.

"The size of the increase will signal how concerned Bank of England policymakers are about inflation versus a recession as it looks to curtail further price rises without inadvertently causing unnecessary economic pain," she said.

She pointed out that the mortgage market has calmed down since former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget and the U-turns that followed.

But she added that about two million borrowers on variable rate mortgages look set to face increased payments after today's decision at 12:00.

Be sure to stick with us for the latest from the Bank of England later on.

Jessica Sherwood
BBC News

Michelle Stelle, 58, from East Riding of Yorkshire is a renter having to make lifestyle changes due to the cost of living crisis.

“My disposable income has gone down dramatically,” she says, and is having to rethink her journey to and from work.

It’s a 60-mile trip overall and Michelle has been asking herself: 'Can I get in today? Can I afford it?'

She has a loan on a van and is worried about rising interest rates, as well as rent increases.

Michelle says she's not sure what she'll do if her rent rises.

"I think everyone is in the same boat. We're all struggling," she adds.

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It's something many of us are thinking about - how can we save more energy and reduce our bills?

We've been looking at where you’re most likely to be losing the most energy in your home, and have talked to experts about simple solutions to save money and keep warm this winter.

Draught excluders

Shutting doors won’t stop warm air escaping your home. But adding a draught excluder - or even a rolled up old towel - could help to make things better.

Think about your windows

Badly-fitting windows or single panes of glass are another place heat is often lost.

If you can't get windows replaced with double glazing, the Energy Saving Trust says it is worth getting some heavy curtains to help keep the heat in the room.

A thin plastic sheet to cover the windows would also help block draughts.

Focus the heat

The Eco-Experts blog recommends "heating the humans, not the building". So perhaps don't keep the central heating on in rooms you're not in.

Age UK also suggests several thin layers of clothing could keep you warmer than one thick layer, as the different clothes trap warm air between them.

Take control of your central heating

Set your thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature - often 18 to 21C (64.4 to 69.8F).

Turning your thermostat down just one degree could cut bills by about £145 a year, the Energy Saving Trust says.

This is based on a semi-detached house with the heating on between 7am-9am and 4pm-11pm on week days and between 7am-11pm at weekends.

Read more tips here

A hike in interest rates will drive more workers into debt and other forms of financial hardship, a major trade union has warned.

A survey of 6,000 people on behalf of Unite has revealed that more than half cannot or will have difficulty paying their bills this year.

The union's general secretary Sharon Graham says their research shows many workers "face unsurmountable financial pressure".

The poll also suggests more than two thirds of workers have experienced a real-terms pay cut this year (when their wages are rising at below the rate of prices).

Graham went on to argue that the problem which is driving inflation is not worker's wage demands, but rather "corporate greed".

Image source, Reuters

The key thing to understand is that raising interest rates helps to control inflation. Inflation means the rate at which the cost of everyday products is going up.

Interest rates affect how much money a borrower has to pay back when returning the money in a loan. A higher interest rate makes it more expensive to borrow money.

That encourages people to borrow and spend less, and save more - which in turn calms inflation.

The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank, independent of the government.

It tries to maintain financial stability and sets the UK’s official interest rate. It has a target to limit inflation to 2% each year - but recently, prices have been rising at about five times that level.

The Bank has repeatedly been forced to raise interest rates recently, and looks set to carry on.

But it’s a balancing act. The Bank doesn’t want to slow the economy too much with its interventions.

And in the meantime, higher interest rates mean higher repayments on things like mortgages, credit cards and car loans - increasing the financial pressure on lots of households.

Hope Bolger
BBC News

As we’ve been reporting, rising interest rates has a knock-on effect for some mortgages.

Ajith Thomson, 47, is already paying an extra £371 a month for a mortgage on his flat in Tottenham, London.

"My mortgage has gone up from £1,007 to £1,378,” he says.

"When I first got my mortgage I was on a two-year-fixed rate and it was 1.38%.

"I called the Halifax and they told me to change my deal rate it would cost £2,000 so I should wait a few days when I would be in the right time to change it without a penalty.

"So two days later I called and they offered me 4.61%.

"I have calculated that I would need an extra £1,000 a month to afford this along with everything else such as rising bills and food.

"That's £12,000 a year, which means I need about a 30% pay rise which will not happen.

"I cannot expect my employer to pay that, so where is the money going to come from?

"I have a wife and child and another baby on the way due in April. Thinking about how to survive is making me so stressed."

Kevin Peachey
Cost of living correspondent

An increase from 2.25% to 3% would mean a £73.49 monthly increase for the average tracker mortgage, and £46.22 for the average standard variable rate (SVR) mortgage.

An increase to 3% would mean that since December, when the base rate was 0.1%, the average monthly mortgage payment has increased £284.17 for the average tracker, and £178.70 for the average SVR.

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An increase from 2.25% to 2.75% would mean a £49 monthly increase for the average tracker mortgage, and £30.81 for the average SVR.

An increase to 2.75% would mean that since December the average monthly mortgage payment has increased £259.67 for the average tracker, and £163.29 for the average SVR.

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An increase from 2.25% to 3.25% would mean a £97.99 monthly increase for the average tracker mortgage, and £61.62 for the average SVR.

An increase to 3.25% would mean that since December the average monthly mortgage payment has increased £308.67 for the average tracker, and £194.10 for the average SVR.

You can use our calculator to see how increasing rates could affect your mortgage.

Away from the UK, rising inflation has also prompted the US central bank to approve another rise in interest rates by 0.75 percentage points.

The Federal Reserve decision lifts them to their highest level since early 2008, taking the bank's benchmark lending rate to 3.75% - 4%.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned that rates were likely to move up again, saying that speculation that the bank might pause was "premature".

The US's actions come as many other countries also raise rates in response to their own inflation problems, which have been fuelled by a mixture of factors, including higher energy prices as a result of the war in Ukraine.

While it remains unclear how high rates will ultimately need to go, Mr Powell said they look likely to end up higher than banking policymakers had previously expected.

"We will stay the course until the job is done," he said.

Read more about US interest rate hikes here.

Expect to read loads about interest rates today.

The Bank of England looks poised to hike up the UK’s official rate to try to calm down inflation - something which impacts your pocket.

What’s inflation, though?

Basically, it’s the increase in the price of something over time.

For example, if a bottle of milk costs £1 and it goes up to £1.05 a year later, then milk inflation is 5%.

Inflation in the UK is at its highest rate for 40 years and was officially recorded at 10.1% in September. And it’s not even believed to have peaked yet.

To calculate inflation, statisticians keep track of the prices of hundreds of everyday items, such as food and clothes. This measure is called the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

Each inflation figure shows how much these prices have risen since the same date a year before.

Other countries are feeling the pinch too, with rising prices of food and energy the main causes.

If you'd like read more about why the cost of living is rising, click here.

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The Bank of England is playing catch up with interest rates and should have started raising them last year, a former member of its Monetary Policy Committee has said.

Andrew Sentance tells BBC Radio 5 Live interest rates should already have been around 3% by now in order to combat inflation (the rate at which prices rise per year - currently at over 10%).

He says that while much of soaring inflation rates are down to global factors like rising energy prices and food costs, some of it is within the UK's capacity to control; like rising wages and costs.

Sentance, who served on the nine-member committee which votes on interest rate decisions from 2006 to 2011, explains that interest rate rises serve to reduce people's spending and therefore slow down the rate at which prices rise to contain inflation.

However, this process "takes a while" and is not going to swiftly bring down the rising cost of living, he cautions.

Sentance notes that 3% interest rates are not a particularly high level in historic terms, but is above what people have become accustomed to over the last 13 years.

Acknowledging the pain these rate rises will cause people, he says the Bank of England's job is to contain inflation first and foremost to prevent rapidly rising prices becoming embedded in the economy long term.

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We're all experiencing soaring costs right now - with food, energy, transport and housing among those areas of expenditure affecting our pockets the most.

But everyone’s cost of living crisis is impacting them in different ways.

Click the link here to see how you might be affected personally, what help is available and tips on how to save money.

Faisal Islam
Economics editor

Expect a high noon, of sorts, for interest rates, as the nine members of the committee who decide Bank of England base rates, reveal how much rates will go up - directly impacting many mortgages and business loans.

Economists predict - and markets have already priced in - a jumbo 0.75 percentage point rise, the biggest single increase since 1989. The Bank shied away from such a move in September, preferring a more modest half a percentage point rise.

Much has happened since that decision, including the now notorious mini-budget, a fall in sterling to record lows, and some record rises in government borrowing costs, before the biggest U-turn in British economic history and the replacement of both chancellor and prime minister.

Markets have calmed somewhat since the tumult of last month, and so it would now be a surprise if rates were hiked by a full percentage point - the clear expectation before the mini- budget U-turns.

But the real question is how high will rates go, and for how long will they stay there as the Bank tries to contain double digit inflation. In the US last night, its central bank hiked again and indicated further rises up to 5%.

The Bank of England’s forecasts will indicate not just where rates are heading, but just how much ongoing damage has been done by the turmoil of the past few weeks, to an economy already predicted to be heading for recession.