Warren Heppolette starts Prevention Demonstrator secondment with GMCA

By GM Moving | 21 October 2025 | TAGS: Warren Heppolette, GM Moving

GM Moving board member Warren Heppolette has joined the Greater Manchester Combined Authority as Director of the Prevention Demonstrator on an 18-month secondment from NHS GM.

The Prevention Demonstrator is a commitment from government, confirmed through the GM Growth & Devolution group set up by the Chancellor and Deputy Prime Minister and the NHS’s Ten-Year Health Plan, to test and spread new approaches to prevention and reduce the costs and demand associated with current approaches.

Greater Manchester was named specifically in the NHS strategy as a location where devolution and a focus on population health outcomes are “most advanced”.

The King’s Fund has previously labelled GM as the ‘poster child’ of devolution and the ‘leading light in efforts to improve population health at scale’.

The government has committed to supporting Prevention Demonstrators with increased autonomy, including opportunities to pool budgets and reprofile public service spending.

Moving from sickness to prevention is one of the three shifts outlined in the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, something GM has been committed to since the earliest days of devolution.

Researchers from the University of Manchester found broad improvements in health services, social determinants of health and health outcomes because of devolution.

Life expectancy improved, especially in the most deprived areas.

Greater Manchester inactivity levels were falling at nearly three times the rate of change nationally before the pandemic. And post-pandemic, activity levels recovered twice as quickly as the national rate of change.

Elsewhere, crime fell, school readiness improved, employment rose, and smoking rates dropped.

Warren said:

“The Prevention Demonstrator is a fantastic chance to show what’s possible when we commit to working differently with communities and work together to hardwire prevention across all our public services.

“Greater Manchester is uniquely placed to lead on a shift from public services organised around crisis to providing earlier help and creating good health and safer, stronger communities.

“To reduce inequalities and create good lives for all, we must align resources to local need and build deep partnerships towards a common purpose.”

Warren will continue to be a member of the GM Moving Board of Trustees overseeing the business, strategy, and long-term planning of GM Moving as the Senior Independent Director.

He is also a director of FC United of Manchester and Northern Housing Consortium. 

You can listen to Warren’s interview on The Conveners Podcast for further insight into how his work will continue to support active lives for all in Greater Manchester.