SO interest rates have gone up by 0.25 per cent (Echo, Nov 3). This is supposed to solve our inflation problems?

On the TV today I have seen two adverts, one for loans at 1,295 per cent interest and the other for sofas with no deposit and nothing to pay for one year. Have I gone mad? There must be some control or the country and its inhabitants will never get out of debt.

Peter Hale, Scorton

LISTENING to the Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney explaining the reasons why after ten years interest rates have moved from 0.25 per cent up to 0.5 per cent (Echo, Nov 3) one does worry that this will be a shock to many people with mortgages.

With inflation rising one can understand why the Bank of England has raised the base rate of interest.

One can take issue with Mark Carney’s comment on more people in work than ever, as lots of these jobs are low paid and some are zero hours contracts.

Public sector workers have undergone years of pay freezes well below inflation, and an increase in interest rates is a double whammy for them.

Low productivity has been a big problem for UK industries and if this doesn’t improve we will fall further behind more productive countries.

Then there’s the problem of massive rising personal debt which needs addressing, but could cause more problems for families.

Hopefully Carney’s comment that families are well placed to cope with this interest rise is manageable.

George Dunning, Ormesby