Stoke-on-Trent joined the WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities in April 2014. Our aspiration is for our City to be a great place to grow old in. Consultation with older people has informed our developing action plan and identified our initial priorities of social participation, transport and personal safety in the home and public places. Our Age-friendly City Steering Group involves older people, organisations representing the interests of older people and a range of other partners covering the eight Age-friendly City (AFC) domains of community life.

Our AFC programmes include:

• AFC Small Grants Fund – established to support the activity of local groups and organisations to tackle loneliness and increase social participation among older people in the City. Supported by Saltbox, a local third sector organisation, older people have shaped the criteria for the fund and form the panel which considers applications and awards grants.

• AFC Commitments Programme – Staffordshire Housing Association has been commissioned to work with groups, venues and organisations in the City to support them to make at least one change to become more Age-friendly. Again, older people will be at the centre of the work, steering the approach and liaising directly with local groups and organisations.

• Age Awareness Training – Staffordshire Housing Association has been commissioned to deliver training to groups and organisations across the city to support them to become more age-friendly. This complements the Commitments Programme.

• Ageing Studies Certificate Course – Keele University delivered an accredited eight-module course which aimed to equip staff across a range of services with knowledge and skills to better understand and meet the needs of older people in their service delivery.

There are a range of partners working to help make Stoke-on-Trent an age-friendly city, including: Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Beth Johnson Foundation, Saltbox, Staffordshire Housing, Keele University, Staffordshire University, WEA, CCG, Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce, Father Hudson’s Society, Age UK, VAST and New Vic Theatre.

We are currently completing an Older People’s Needs Assessment for our city. Our next steps are to use the findings of the Needs Assessment to further develop our AFC action plan and evaluation framework with the involvement of older people.