Valuing Older People

Valuing Older People is a partnership initiative established in 2004 and led by Manchester City Council and the Primary Care Trust. It brings together a range of stakeholders and focuses on improving the quality of life for Manchester’s older residents. To do this it is looking at the themes adopted by the Manchester Partnership (click here for more information) – but specifically from the point of view of older people. These are:

• crime and fear of crime
• cultural life
• education & continuing learning
• housing
• economic life and transport
• health and social care

The Valuing Older People mission statement is:

“To promote opportunities for older people to maximise their potential as active citizens and to encourage them to remain living in the City”

The Valuing Older People initiative aims to achieve this by promoting good practice in employment, leisure, education and social activities and addressing concerns about safety and crime.

The Older People’s Network welcomed this initiative because it shows that the City Council recognises the importance of the whole range of services and activities necessary to promote a full, healthy and independent life for older people.

Obviously, in order to ensure that there is a genuine older people’s perspective on these issues, the voices of older people need to be loud and clear. Older people need to be in the driving seat. The Older People’s Network continues to promote an open and visible strategy for involvement, which should enable older people to be ‘genuine partners rather than token reps’.

Link: Manchester City Council - Valuing Older People