Dutch companies which do business in Britain are less well prepared to deal with the impact of Brexit now than they were a year ago, according to research carried out on behalf of the foreign and economic affairs ministries.

A year ago, 80% of firms said they were on top of the latest Brexit developments, but that has now gone down to 49%, the survey of 400 firms showed.

Last year, 76% of firms said they were fairly or very ready to do business in Britain after Brexit, but this has now dropped to 60%. However, the number of firms who say they are well prepared is almost unchanged at 31%.

Now the July 1 deadline for a decision on extending the withdrawal negotiation period has passed, companies have until the end of this year to prepare for the new relationship between the UK and EU, the ministry points out.

On Tuesday, the senate backed legislation which gives Dutch nationals in Britain the right to dual nationality, if the final agreements worsens their position.