UNDERSTANDABLY, concerns over the health of the UK economy have been fuelled by this morning’s services sector survey from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply, which further highlights the damaging impact of Brexit.

The monthly survey, in conjunction with IHS Markit, shows the services sector grew in December at one of the slowest rates recorded over the past two-and-a-half years. New orders for services companies increased only marginally last month. And employment growth in the sector slowed to its weakest pace since July 2016.

CIPS observed: “Worries about the impact of Brexit uncertainty on business investment and consumer demand remained by far the most prominent issues cited by survey respondents at the end of last year.”

At a seasonally adjusted 51.2 in December, CIPS’s business activity index for services was not quite as weak as the 50.4 reading for the previous month but it continued to signal a very weak pace of growth in this key sector.

And Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, highlights the fact that this week’s surveys by CIPS and IHS Markit of the services, construction and manufacturing sectors together point to UK growth being close to its weakest since the referendum.

UK expansion has been very unimpressive since the Brexit vote, even worse than the sluggish rates over previous years during which the Conservatives’ austerity took a heavy toll, so it is worrying indeed that growth is running at one of its slowest rates in the two-and-a-half years since the referendum.