1,879 Ealing adults were the subject of an abuse or neglect concern in 2025/26, up 9 per cent. Most enquiries involved neglect, and most happened at home.
1,879 adults in Ealing were the subject of a safeguarding concern in 2025/26, up from 1,725 the year before. That is a rise of 9 per cent, and the second rise in a row.
The figures are in the Ealing Safeguarding Adults Board annual report for 2025-26. The board brings together the council, the NHS and the police. Its report goes to the council’s Health and Adult Social Services Scrutiny Panel on Tuesday 17 November.
A safeguarding concern is a worry that an adult with care and support needs is being abused or neglected, or is at risk of it. Anyone can raise one: a nurse, a carer, a relative or a neighbour. The report says health professionals raised the most.
Concerns and enquiries, year by year
The board counts each person once a year, however many concerns were raised about them.
| Year | Adults with a concern | Adults with a full enquiry |
|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 1,621 | 495 |
| 2024/25 | 1,725 | 516 |
| 2025/26 | 1,879 | 603 |
Enquiries rose faster than concerns. A full enquiry, known as a Section 42 enquiry under the Care Act 2014, is the council’s own investigation into what happened and how to keep the person safe. 603 adults had one in 2025/26, 87 more than the year before, a rise of 17 per cent.
The share of concerns that went on to a full enquiry also grew. It was 32.9 per cent in 2025/26, against 29.7 per cent in 2024/25, according to the report.
What the enquiries were about
Neglect was by far the most common type of abuse. The report’s breakdown of enquiries by type:
- neglect and acts of omission: 290, or 38 per cent
- psychological abuse: 102, 13 per cent
- financial or material abuse: 101, 13 per cent
- physical abuse: 101, 13 per cent
- self-neglect: 99, 13 per cent
- domestic abuse: 32, 4 per cent
Smaller numbers involved organisational abuse (17), sexual abuse (12), discrimination (6), sexual exploitation (3) and modern slavery (1). One enquiry can involve more than one type.
Most of the harm happened at home. 414 enquiries, or 59 per cent, recorded the person’s own home as the place of abuse. Nursing homes accounted for 94 and residential care homes for 90, about 13 per cent each.
How enquiries ended
The report records the outcome of completed enquiries where a risk was found:
- the risk was reduced in 56 per cent
- the risk was removed in 31 per cent
- the risk remained in 13 per cent
The report does not say why the risk remained in those cases.
Two reviews after serious harm
The board considered seven referrals for a Safeguarding Adults Review during the year. These reviews look at a case where an adult was seriously harmed or died, and agencies could have worked together better.
Two met the legal threshold. Independent reviewers wrote both, and both were published within the year. The board’s independent chair, Rob McCulloch-Graham, said one “highlights the pressures for families providing care for a loved one at home”. The other concerned mental capacity and the risks when a person moves between services and places.
“Important lessons have been learned from both cases,” he wrote. He added that the board had accepted every recommendation.
Who pays for the board
The council, the NHS and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime paid in £83,566 between them:
- Ealing Council adult social care: £40,790
- the NHS: £37,776
- the police, through MOPAC: £5,000
The board spent £128,366, mostly on staff and on commissioning reviews. The £44,800 gap is met by the council every year. The report says the “recurring shortfall” shows the funding arrangements need reviewing.
What it means for you
If you are worried that an adult is being abused or neglected, you can report a concern to Ealing Council on 020 8825 8000 or by email to sscallcentre@ealing.gov.uk. The council says anyone can report a concern, members of the public as well as professionals. If someone is in danger, call 999.
The scrutiny panel meets at 7pm on Tuesday 17 November. The same agenda carries an update on the Care Quality Commission’s inspection of the council’s adult social care, which has inspectors on site that week.
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