Greater Manchester Older People's Network
How we influence meaningful change within Greater Manchester
The GM Older People’s Network brings together older people and key organisations to influence policies and services across Greater Manchester.
By actively engaging with local authorities, NHS bodies, transport agencies and housing providers, GMOPN has advocated and influenced changes that benefit Older People across GM. The network’s influence has led to improved access to healthcare, improved transport options for those with mobility challenges, and more age-friendly housing developments, for example. The network plays a key role in the successful inclusion of older people’s voices within decision-making processes, something that has largely been achieved and continues to be developed through our working groups.
Health and Social Care Working Group
We work closely with local health and social care providers, NHS bodies, and local authorities to shape policies and services that directly impact older people. The working group involves a group of members who are interested in the topic and directly contribute feedback to discussions with partner organisations and influencing bodies, such as mental health services and the ICP, for example. These collaborations aim to ensure that older people receive accessible, high-quality, and person-centered care, by ensuring that older people’s voices (through members of the working group) are included in the design and implementation of policies and strategies. Most recently, the network has contributed to influence in changes in areas such as Falls Prevention Initiatives, Adult Social Care Commission and working with key university partners to look at health initiatives in ageing.
Transport and Out & About Working Group
We collaborate with key transport bodies within the city region, including Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the local authorities, to improve transport and accessibility for older people. The Working Group regularly provide feedback on their experience of using public transport and services while ‘out and about’ to co-produce upcoming strategies or policy changes within these key partners. The group, and the conversations that we facilitate, are important to public transport remaining affordable, reliable and accessible to older people, particularly those with mobility challenges. For example, the working group have recently been involved in consultation conversations for the TfGM Neighbourhood Transport Review through lobbying for increased Ring and Ride services, and improving uptake of the services that currently exist.
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The GMOPN have also recently been involved in directly influencing the pre 9:30am Bus Trial Restrictions lift, that was enforced on the 1st March 2026 - feeding back to Andy Burnham directly following the August and November trial, in which he encouraged the network that he is in favour of the restrictions lifting and that our feedback has played an important role in this.
Housing and Neighbourhoods Working Group
Housing is a central issue for older people, the GMOPN works closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to influence local housing strategy and integrate the voice and choices of older people throughout. We also collaborate with housing associations and development agencies to ensure there is adequate, affordable, and suitable housing for older people, ensuring members of the network have chance to ask questions and make reccomendations based within their lived experience. A key aspect of this is raising the voices of network members, and making sure their lived experience can be heard by the wider sector, to influence change. This was key to the presentation that Steering Group representatives, Judie and Elaine, gave at Housing 25 – an event aimed at the Housing and wider living sector.
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Each of these examples shows how the network influences decisions around the availability of supported housing, the adaptation of existing homes to meet the needs of older people, and the strategic development of age-friendly communities.
How the Older People's network fits together
See our engagement diagram together to understand key influencing bodies that partner with different parts of the GMOPN.
Influencing - GMOPN Steering Group
The GMOPN Steering Group consists of a mix of older people representative from each of the 10 Greater Manchester boroughs. The Steering Group collectively guides the strategy of the network through co-production, working directly with advocacy groups, and statutory bodies. It plays a crucial role in shaping the overall network's agenda, ensuring that older people’s voices are central to wider decision-making processes across each of the thematic Working Group areas and beyond, including Mental Health provision, co-production of an older person’s ‘GM Our Pass’ and wider campaigns around ageism. The Steering Group influences policy across Greater Manchester, ensuring that the lived experience of older people is considered in all aspects of local governance and supporting members to take a lead in chairing this aspect of work.
One influencing project that the network, encapsulating both the Steering Group and the GM Older People’s Equality Panel, has effectively worked on is the continued lobbying project for an Older Person’s Commissioner. Following a workshop with national and regional experts, members agreed that lobbying Andy Burnham for a National Commissioner - which ideally would be based in Greater Manchester, due to the city region’s Age Friendly priorities, was the preferred approach over a GM-specific Older Person’s Commissioner.
Judy Collins, Steering Group Member representative from Trafford, and Chair of the Housing and Neighbourhoods Working Group, explained how the impact of being able to work directly with key influencing bodies ad individuals has impacted her work.
“I can't believe how far we've come since I joined and being able to work with GM and the Mayor and always having the support of Macc. GM is a world lead in older people and GMOPN is able to be a sometimes critical friend because we've retained our independence.”
Another key project that the network facilitated wasthe Vaccination Champion Workshop, which formally trained network members to better understand the importance of winter vaccinations (including both Covid and Flu vaccinations) to help educate their local network, friends and family – ultimately enouraging maximum uptake of the vaccines within the taget group of older people. Working with the Integrated Care Partnership's Vaccinations Team, the network trained over 25 community champions across Greater Manchester in a series of accessible workshops. Laura Hamilton, Project Manager at 10GM, commented on the partnership, “GMOPN created an opportunity to draw on the lived experience and community knowledge of their members… in a format relevant and accessible for communities experiencing health inequalities.”
Influencing - GM Mature Minds Matter
GM Mature Minds Matter emerged from focusing on the challenges faced by older people in accessing mental health support and caring for those who have experience of mental health problems. It focuses on improving mental health services for older people, providing a space to co-produce strategic directions and reduce stigma around aging and mental health, ultimately aiming to increase access to support. The network brings together experts, service providers, and older people to raise awareness and ensure mental health services meet the needs of older people in Greater Manchester.
The group work directly with mental health service providers, including the Neighbourhood Mental Health teams, voluntary sector partners, NHS Trusts and the GM Integrated Care Partnerships. It also seeks to reduce stigma surrounding mental health by encouraging open dialogue between members and improving communication of services that are available, for example, in 2025 we worked with University of Manchester partners to support and co-produce a resource for older people in accessing services when experiencing self-harm. Through the co-design of this project, group members highlighted the need for a separate resource for older people who might be experiencing self-harm, and those who are close or care for older people who might be experiencing self-harm. The full resource and reflections of the project can be found here.
One key project that took place across Mature Minds Matter this year, was the Giving Voice to Grief Project (the full report of which can be read here). This project aimed at bringing together creative techniques of using voice and breathwork and allow participants to access support from trained clinical psychologist facilitators as part of acknowledging and processing grieving the loss of someone. Two workshops were held, the first took place in September at The Bury Met, and a second in December at St Thomas Centre, Manchester. A total of 27 people from across Greater Manchester attended these workshops. The intended impact of this project was to allow attendees to improve their mental wellbeing whilst exploring themes of grief and loss as well as being equipped with tools that support them personally, but that can also be shared further than the individual. Those who took part identified that they felt less alone after the workshop, and a number of people praised the importance of having creative ways of accessing support, as well as understanding the healing power of breath and voice more as a result. Reflections from group members included, “It was wonderful having permission to be emotional,” and “It was a nourishing day.”
Influencing - GMOP Equality Panel
The GMOP Equality Panel was established in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in 2022 to work directly with statutory partners within the GMCA, including Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to inform lived experience policy decision within the Combined Authority. This also provides direct links with Ageing Hub, situated within the GMCA and other key partners, such as Transport for Greater Manchester.
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One key project that the Equality Panel have played a major influence this year has been the removal of the morning time limitations for the bus pass restrictions, from before 9:30am. Following two TfGM trial periods, to understand public benefits and economic costings of the removal. This was something that was mentioned highlighted by the group at the October Equality Panel Meeting with the Greater Manchester Mayor, reinforcing the significance of these changes to older people living across GM, and ultimately resulted in a successful campaign. #
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The panel also recently met with the Deputy Mayor of GM responsible for Safer and Stronger Communities, to share experiences of crime and reporting for older people. This panel meeting focused on a number of topics including domestic abuse in Older People, digital exclusion with crime reporting, and fraudulent scamming.