THE Bank of England will cut the number of meetings of its interest rate-setters from 12 to eight a year under a series of reforms.

It will also publish minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings at the same time as it issues rates decisions.

They are normally disclosed about a fortnight later.

The changes follow a series of recommendations set out in an independent report by former US Federal Reserve official Kevin Warsh.

Bank Governor Mark Carney said they were "the most significant set of changes to how we present and explain our interest rate decisions since the Monetary Policy Committee was formed in 1997".

Mr Carney said prior to the financial crisis, monetary policy had changed on average four times a year.

In future, meetings will be held at the time of its quarterly inflation reports and once in between, while the MPC will retain the ability to meet at any time in exceptional circumstances.

The Bank said it will start to publish the minutes of its policy decisions and the inflation report, at the same time as its policy decisions, from next August - bringing it up to speed with international transparency standards.

Mr Warsh added: "The Bank is now alone among its peer group of central banks in not routinely producing a contemporaneous assessment and rationale."

It will also start to publish transcripts of MPC meetings, with an eight-year delay.

The Bank added it would hold four joint meetings with the Financial Policy Committee - responsible for stability - in 2016.