Today, policy adjustments are effected and signalled to the market mainly through announced changes in the Bank Rate and the target band for the overnight interest rate. Private agents are then free to determine how these changes will be transmitted through the rest of the financial system and the economy in general.
The Bank simply issues a press release indicating what the new Bank Rate is, and this in turn anchors the short-term end of the yield curve. Central bank independence and accountability have also been more clearly defined.