LONDON (Reuters) - British firms had an easier time getting credit in the last three months — the first improvement this year — and access to credit is seen getting even better in the next three months, a survey showed on Monday. The Confederation of British Industry's July Access to Finance Survey showed a net 18 percent of firms saw an improvement in the availability of new finance in the last three months.

That was a marked improvement from the net 20 percent who reported difficulties in the last survey and the first positive reading since the survey started this year.

And a net 13 percent of firms reckon it will get easier to obtain new credit in the next three months, compared with a net seven percent in the May survey who expected difficulties to continue in the coming months. The data offer a glimmer of hope that unprecedented action by the government and the Bank of England to encourage banks to lend to businesses and households may be starting to work.

The central bank last week upped its efforts to get money flowing through the economy again by raising its quantitative easing programme by £50 billion to £175 billion, citing tight credit conditions as one of the reasons for the move. Banks that have racked up heavy losses after years of loose lending have been clamping down on lending.