THERE was a dramatic rise in the number of adults reported as having "safeguarding concerns" such as domestic abuse and exploitation, in the past year.

In 2017/18 the number of reports of adults at risk reached 4,815 - up 57 per cent from the previous year.

Councillors have been told that the rise comes as more people are made aware of what constitutes abuse, and that "things that normally happen under the table" were now being reported more.

At a meeting of Bradford Council's Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, members were told that until recently just 20 per cent of these reports were followed up. But in the past year 61 per cent of these reports led to further enquiries.

The committee heard that much more focus was now being put on adults who were at risk. A multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, similar to one which has been dealing with child safeguarding issues in Bradford for years, has been set up after research found the hub, made up of social workers, police and charities, would be the most effective way of dealing with at risk adults.

A report to the committee said the hub would meet daily to deal with any reports for concern received in the previous 24 hours.

Social worker Andrea Richards presented the report to the committee and was asked if the rise was due to an increase in domestic abuse, or because safeguarding issues were now identified much faster.

She replied that a lot of work had been done to make the public more aware of issues like domestic violence, financial abuse, grooming and other safeguarding issues. There had also been better training among staff in places like care homes to recognise safeguarding concerns.

She added: "The rise could be attributed to that increased awareness. It is hard to tell if it is awareness increasing or that abuse is increasing. Once you raise awareness then that means what once happened under the table is now on the table and clearer to see."

Councillor Ralph Berry (Lab, Wibsey) said: "I'm really pleased to see adult safeguarding moving from the background to the foreground. In many ways it can be more complex than children's safeguarding.

"There has been a welcome focus on child safeguarding, but there is the danger that that criminality behind grooming might move onto vulnerable adults, which could include drug addicts or victims of domestic abuse.

"It is great that we are also focusing on protecting these people too. We need to get that culture where people are more willing to raise concerns."