During 2005 Manchester City Council formally submitted a proposal to the first stage of the Department of Health’s new “Partnerships for Older People’s Projects” fund. POPPs (as it has inevitably become known) is available to fund innovative approaches which will support older people to live independently, to have a better quality of life and to avoid the need for hospital and other high intensity care. It is a condition of the funding that the bid must be a partnership approach but led by the Local Authority. The bid was approved by the Department of Health bringing in £2.6million to Manchester over the next two years.

The work splits into three areas: the Gateway , Business Improvement support for voluntary sector groups and a programme of Grants. Within this section, there is a page on each of these workstreams. You can also use the online forum to discuss POPPs.

All of the POPPs work is being overseen by a Programme Board which includes members from all sectors:

• Fionnuala Stringer (Manchester City Council, Adult Social Care)
• Hanif Bobat (Manchester Race and Health Forum / Black Community Care Consultative Forum)
• Pip Cotterill ( Joint Commissioning Officer, Older People )
• Paul McGarry (Manchester City Council, Valuing Older People)
• Neela Mody (Manchester City Council, Manchester Advice)
• Graeme Vaughan (Manchester City Council)
• Mike Wild (MACC)
• David Williams (Manchester Carers Forum)
  

MACC worked to co-ordinate the voluntary and community sector contribution to this process. The work done for the initial stage involved a number of organisations who  identified the need for business development support for voluntary and community sector groups who provide low-level support to older people but don't have the capacity to engage in the new contract and commissioning culture. You can download the paper submitted to the City Council as a voluntary sector contribution to the bid here: