Policy
23 July, 2008
'No dichotomy between funding specialist services and cohesion'
Southall Black Sisters claim victory in High Court
Southall Black Sisters (SBS), a London charity that supports victims of domestic violence from black and ethnic minority backgrounds, claimed victory in the High Court last week, in a ruling that resulted in their local council, Ealing, reversing a decision to cut its £100,000 funding.
SBS was told by Ealing Council last July that their annual grant of £100,000 would not be renewed. Ealing wanted to commission a domestic violence support service that was available to all women in the borough. SBS was invited to bid to deliver the generic service and was offered an interim grant until the commissioning decision was made.
Commenting on the commissioning process, Pragna Patel, Chair of SBS said -
'The tender documents effectively excluded us because we couldn't show how we could deliver the services to everyone. We are barely meeting all our costs as it is, and they were expecting the same amount of money to serve all women. Only big charities could bid because their overheads were already covered. We knew we didn't stand a chance.'
In delivering his ruling, Lord Justice Moses, who presided over the judicial review said -
'There is no dichotomy between funding for specialist services and cohesion; equality is necessary for cohesion to be achieved.'
Commenting on the ruling, Councillor Jason Stacey, Leader of Ealing Council said -
'Ealing Council defended this case because it believes that all women in the borough, regardless of their ethnic background, should have equal access to domestic violence support services. This principle remains but the process has highlighted areas of the law that are unclear and open to many different interpretations.
Following agreement in Court today, the Judge will give local authorities across the country much needed guidance on grant aid funding. On this basis we were happy to withdraw from the case.'
For more information see the Third Sector article BME charity claims High Court victory after losing council funding and the Ealing Council press release High Court challenge.
