Dear David Mortimer,
Thank you for
your request for information, which was received by Manchester City
Council on 28 June 2006 and has been considered under the provisions
of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
You asked for:
How many help
and support groups the Council funds directly or indirectly for: -
· male
victims of domestic violence
· female
victims of domestic violence and their children and
· how much
each group receives pa.
In response to
numbered points 1 and 2 of your request, I have been informed that
the Council does hold the information you have requested and that
Manchester City Council funded for the year 2006-2007, 12 specialist
domestic abuse services in Manchester made up as follows: -
· 9 services
can only be accessed by women experiencing domestic violence
· 1 service
is predominantly for women but male victims will also be supported
if they contact the service
· 2 services
are for both male and female victims of domestic abuse.
I am told that
the above information covers funded services provided directly by
Manchester City Council or indirectly by other organisations, where
the primary client group is domestic violence only. People affected
by domestic violence also access mainstream services such as those
provided by Adult Social Care and Housing Services. Please note some
of the above services are not solely funded by Manchester City Council.
In respect of
numbered point 3 of your request, I am informed that the Council does
hold the information that you have requested, however the Council
is unable to comply with this part of your request. This is because
I am told that this part of the requested information is exempt from
disclosure under the following qualified exemption: Section 43: Commercial
Interests
I have been informed
that this exemption applies because the release of the information
is likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the Council or
a third party. Release of the amount of funding the Council pays to
individual services would give an unfair advantage to organisations
who are tendering for a service as part of the commissioning process.
This exemption is a 'qualified' exemption, which means that it is
subject to a public interest test.
I am advised that
the public interest test has been applied and it has been determined
that, on balance, it is more beneficial to the public to withhold
the information than to release it. I am informed that in reaching
this decision the Council considered the following factors: commercial
sensitivities, commissioning, tendering and procurement processes
and determined that the release of the requested information will
inhibit the effective delivery of services and/or undermine the Council’s
ability to fulfil its role and may jeopardise the Council’s
bargaining position and thereby result in the less effective use of
public money.
I have been informed
that the total funding allocated to these 12 services for 2006-07
is £1,226,033.00 made up as follows: -
For the 9 services
only accessible by women – £1,016,196.00
For the remaining
3 services accessible by either male or female victims of domestic
violence – £209,837.00
Kind Regards,
