As part of our series of blogs examining The Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing’s (MICRA) new report ‘The Golden Generation?’ Paul McGarry Head of the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub focuses on the growing number of older people in Greater Manchester and how a coordinated strategic response can create age-friendly policies to improve experiences in later life.

• The all-encompassing label ‘older people’ risks presenting those in later life as one large homogenous group when they a diverse range of people with greatly differing life experiences.
• By 2039, the number of residents over 50 in Greater Manchester is expected to grow by a third, whilst those aged 65+ will increase by 53%.
• The Greater Manchester Ageing Hub’s ambition for the region is to be a global centre of excellence for ageing; pioneering new research, technology and solutions.
• Later life is not too late to make changes. Greater Manchester is putting resources into encouraging cultural and social participation, both of which are shown to benefit wellbeing.
• The Greater Manchester Ageing Hub aims to establish the age-friendly model as a framework for ensuring social inclusion in later life across Greater Manchester.

Diversity in later life

For many in Greater Manchester, their experience of later life falls far short of the fabled ‘Golden Generation’. We know this both from the data and from what older people tell us in communities across the region. As this report highlights, by using the all-encompassing label ‘older people’ we risk presenting those in later life as one large homogenous group, rather than a diverse range of people with greatly differing life experiences. We know that some of those diverse characteristics, such as belonging to a black and minority ethnic groups or the LGBT community, put some groups at a much higher risk of experiencing inequalities in later life. Such inequalities present a major barrier to the vision that all older residents in Greater Manchester will be able to contribute to, and benefit from, sustained prosperity and enjoy a good quality of life.

A growing older population

For policy makers, the numbers are dramatic. The predicted growth in the Greater Manchester population of 13% to 3.1 million by 2039 will be driven, in part, by growth in the number of older people. By 2039, the number of residents over 50 in Greater Manchester is expected to grow by a third, whilst those aged 65+ will increase by 53%. The prediction that we can expect worsening health outcomes for the poorest fifth of the next generation should alarm us all! The news that gains in life expectancy are likely to be additional years in poor health has significant implications for those managing health and social care budget and services.

The work of the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority set up the Greater Manchester Ageing Hub as a policy response to the opportunities and challenges of an ageing population. Our role is to coordinate a strategic response by bringing together partners across research, policy and practice in Greater Manchester, a collaborative approach we believe others could adopt. Whilst still in the early stages, we are building on some strong and well-established relationships including with MICRA at the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford, the ten Greater Manchester Local Authorities, the GM Health and Social Care landscape and those in the VCSE Sector. Our ambition for Greater Manchester to be a global centre of excellence for ageing, pioneering new research, technology and solutions, is shared by all our partners and such synergies of direction bring together a powerful community of interest around ageing.

We also need to take from this report that later life is not too late to make changes. Greater Manchester is putting resources into encouraging cultural and social participation, both of which are shown to benefit wellbeing. We want to establish the age-friendly model as a framework for ensuring social inclusion in later life across Greater Manchester, with an emphasis on co-design with older people and improving the quality of later life in GM.

Download MICRA’s new report into wellbeing and inequalities in later life.