Fifty-three per cent of UK firms have reported Brexit as one of their top three sources of uncertainty, according to the Bank of England (BoE).

Publishing the results of its December Decision Maker Panel (DMP) survey, the BoE noted this figure was slightly lower compared to the average of the previous three months, although the bank also said that Brexit-related uncertainty had remained well above its average since the referendum.

The survey, conducted between 6 and 20 December and receiving 2,887 responses, questioned CFOs from small, medium and large UK businesses, which the BoE will use to monitor developments in the economy and to track businesses’ views.

The results of the General Election were announced while the December survey was ongoing, and the BoE suggested around one-third of responses were received after the election. The bank revealed there had been a fall in Brexit-related uncertainty since the election.

On an unweighted basis, the DMP results showed 55% of firms had reported Brexit as an important source of uncertainty for their business in December prior to the election, the same as in November. Post-election, however, this proportion fell to 49%.

Furthermore, the survey results indicated the date at which businesses expected Brexit-related uncertainty to be resolved had also been pushed further into the future, continuing the trend in recent months.

Forty-two per cent of respondents thought that Brexit would not be resolved until at least 2021, a figure up from 34% in November’s survey.

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