{"id":51357,"date":"2014-12-09T16:52:08","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T16:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=e9c80ac1a0508eab0120ad8b75e90d83"},"modified":"2014-12-09T16:52:08","modified_gmt":"2014-12-09T16:52:08","slug":"press-release-government-concerned-at-shocking-evidence-of-the-inaccessibility-of-the-british-high-street-to-disabled-people-despite-their-200-billion-spending-power-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=51357","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Government concerned at ‘shocking’ evidence of the inaccessibility of the British high street to disabled people, despite their \u00a3200 billion spending power this Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Minister of State for Disabled People is urging shops and restaurants to improve their accessibility, as evidence has emerged that thousands of public places have barriers in place that make it difficult for disabled people to lead ordinary lives. <\/p>\n

The news comes as Britain\u2019s 12 million disabled people begin their Christmas shopping and head out to celebrate the festive season with their work colleagues and friends. <\/p>\n

Accessibility experts DisabledGo visited every one of the 30,000 venues in person to assess them. They found a fifth of shops excluded wheelchair users, only a tiny proportion of restaurants and shops have hearing loops and three quarters of dining establishments do not cater for those with visual impairments. When they contacted leading chains direct to gather extra information only a tiny proportion responded, with only 4% of 105 national retailers replying. <\/p>\n

Minister of State for Disabled People Mark Harper said:<\/p>\n

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Everyone deserves to be able to go Christmas shopping or enjoy a festive meal or drink with their friends or colleagues. People with disabilities are no exception. I\u2019m calling on the retail and hospitality industry to look at what more they can do to better cater for disabled people.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t just about doing what\u2019s right. Businesses are missing a trick by not doing more to tap into this market. A fifth of the British population has a disability and they and their households have a spending power of over \u00a3200 billion. Improving accessibility is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The largest ever audit of the high street by DisabledGo spanned over 30,000 shops and restaurants nationwide.<\/p>\n

Findings of the DisabledGo audit<\/h2>\n

High street retail outlets<\/h3>\n

In their findings of 27,000 high street retail outlets audited: <\/p>\n