One in five high street stores has no disabled access, according to a government-backed audit of more than 30,000 businesses. A study by DisabledGo has shown that a third of department stores did not have an accessible toilet and only 15% of retailers had hearing loops for the partially deaf. Researchers visited and assessed 27,000 high street shops and 3,716 restaurants in an audit backed by the Department for Work and Pensions. Among other findings were that two in five food outlets had no accessible toilet, only 23% had menus in large print for the visually impaired and only 9% hearing loops. Just 57 eateries, 14% of the total, listed information on accessibility on their website. Lack of training for staff to help cater for disabled people was another shortcoming. Chairman Barry Stevenson said: ‘It's entirely unacceptable for disabled people, their family, friends and carers not to be able to access all high street shops and facilities.’