Geraldine Coggins
The Green Party
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
What would you do to make sure that wherever people live in Greater Manchester, and whatever their background or economic status, they can access the support and services they need?
Public services should be accessible to all who need them. This is one of the reasons why I have committed to launching the Bee Orbit - a new network of high-frequency express orbital bus routes connecting underserved parts. This bus network will help connect people across Greater Manchester to the public services they need, such as healthcare and advice services, as well as connecting friends and family.
I will also use my voice as Mayor of Greater Manchester to call on Westminster to reverse the years of cuts to our public services, and restore funding for key public services, including healthcare, social care and mental health support.
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
Safety and security are often particular concerns for older people. This includes in their homes, neighbourhoods and public spaces, across the public transport network and online? What would you do to make sure Greater Manchester is a safe place to live and how would you communicate this and make sure people feel safe.
Older people deserve to feel safe and secure in their homes and communities. I will work hard to ensure that Greater Manchester is a safe place for everyone, and will put prevention, fairness and community at the heart of my approach.
I will provide £5 million of additional funding to expand Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit programmes, including Navigator and Parent and Carer Support (PACS), helping to prevent crime before it happens. I will work with the Violence Reduction Unit to tackle knife crime and weapons possession.
Road safety is also a particular concern of mine. I will continue support for the GMCA’s Vision Zero strategy and will build on it through the Citizens’ Assembly on Road Safety so that measures are implemented with the trust, understanding and endorsement of all communities within Greater Manchester.
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
Housing is a priority concern for older people, and we know that good health and good housing go hand in hand. How will you make sure that a range of suitable housing is available for our ageing population, both homeowners and renters? What support will you offer for people to right size or make adaptations?
I wholeheartedly agree that health and good housing go hand in hand. This is why I am promising to launch a ‘Healthy Homes Programme’ across Greater Manchester to tackle poor housing conditions, hold landlords to account and ensure people can live in safe and warm homes. I will create a shared regional enforcement service with specialist inspectors and target inspection proactively in areas with high rates of mould and damp-related illness which can be particularly dangerous for older people.
Many social housing tenants, including older people, are trapped in homes or locations that prevent them from accessing the opportunities and services they need, because moving across council boundaries is difficult. As Mayor, I will work with councils and major housing associations to create a Greater Manchester-wide choice-based mobility scheme for social tenants, so that residents can more easily move to a different borough within Greater Manchester if they need to, to suit their needs.
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
1. What would you do as Mayor to make sure Greater Manchester is age-friendly and a good place to grow older?
A good later life is about more than access to basic services. It is about being able to contribute your skills and experience, stay healthy and active and feel valued for what we do to support the city region. The GM Older People’s Network are currently working with GMCA and TFGM to develop a culture and leisure offer for older people that aligns to the bus pass – designed to help people stay healthy and increase equity. This is an example of people-led policy-making. Would you support this initiative going forward?
I agree that access to culture and leisure is vital for health and wellbeing and should be encouraged at all stages of life. I am very supportive of this initiative and would be pleased to look into how we can create a version of Our Pass for older people that provides discounted access to culture and leisure activities. If elected, I would be pleased to meet with the GM Older People’s Network to discuss how we might be able to make this a reality, and would work with local councils, cultural organisations and older people to design a package that best suits their needs.