Members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee are meeting today, three years after first cutting the base rate.

This week marks three years since interest rates were first set at the current rate of 0.5 per cent, an unprecedented duration.

Interest rates were cut from one per cent to 0.5 per cent in March 2009. At the time it was the sixth cut in as many months, and has remained at this rate ever since.

The decision was initially made because of a sharp drop in output during Q4 2008 due to lower consumer spending and falls in business investment.

It also marked the beginning of the first increases to the asset purchase programme, a process known as quantitative easing, by adding £75bn.

It initially intended to spend £150bn on the programme but has since spent £325bn trying to boost the flow of money into the economy and bring inflation in line with the Bank’s two per cent target.

Members of the committee will discuss the state of the current economy, both here and internationally, before deciding on what the rate should be.

Last month the base rate was held and the committee added £50bn to the asset purchase programme, bringing the total amount so far to £325bn.

Members were unanimous rates should remain the same and analysts have forecast it could remain for at least another year.