A Southall domestic violence group has won a High Court case over a decision that threatened its future.

The Southall Black Sisters (SBS) is a not-for-profit organisation, established in 1979, that meets the needs of black (Asian and African-Caribbean) women.

It was facing the threat of closure because of Ealing Council’s decision to withdraw their funding as of April 2008.

Currently the Council gives money to a number of charities but had wanted to change the way it funds the services for victims of domestic violence.

It wanted groups to bid for a single lump sum to provide support for everyone in the borough.

Southall Black Sisters would have been unable to win any funding because it caters for a specific group (Asian and African-Caribbean women) and does not cater for the whole community.

The case brought by a number of women who were helped by the Southall Black Sisters (SBS) on the grounds that the council did not pay attention to the needs of the people affected by the policy.

Ealing Council conceded defeat.