Manchester City Council

It was agreed that older people needed to be involved at all levels of the organisation if they are to genuinely influence policy. It is for this reason that the initiative set up the Valuing Older People (VOP) Board, which first met in August 2004. The Board functions at a strategic level and holds the VOP team and its partners to account on a wide range of topics. They are responsible for signing off the VOP Action Plan.

Members are elected to the Board for a 2-year period and this is done in three ways:

• 5 citywide older people's organisations nominate a representative to the Board
• 5 people are elected by members of Manchester Older Peoples Forum as their representatives
• 5 people are target-recruited to ensure that we have effective geographical and BME representation

All Board members are expected to bring the views of their wider groups and communities to Board meetings. Board members are offered support and training to participate and there are opportunities to attend regional and national events to strengthen their knowledge of their chosen areas of work. They are also able to access a mentor scheme to support them in their work.