High streets have been urged to cater for disabled people, after figures suggested the ‘purple pound’ was worth up to £212bn.
Government research suggests disabled people find shopping the most difficult experience for accessibility, followed by going to the cinema, theatre and concerts.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions, households with a disabled person have a combined income of £212bn after housing costs.
Minister for disabled people, Mark Harper, has written to over 200 of Britain’s biggest businesses and 80 trade organisations, urging them to improve accessibility for disabled people and their families.
‘We want businesses up and down our high streets to realise they’re excluding more than 12m customers and their families if they fail to cater for disabled people,’ Harper said.
‘That’s the equivalent to the populations of London, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Cardiff and Manchester combined.
‘It’s not just about fairness, it makes good business sense to be accessible,’ he added.
Recommendations passed on to high street businesses included removing clutter from corridors and aisles and providing parking for disabled customers.
