Revolving Doors responds to the Local Government Outcomes Framework consultation
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is developing a Local Government Outcomes Framework (LGOF) to bring together key data on local priorities. The aim is to provide a consistent way of understanding how councils and their partners are performing against national outcomes, while also helping to identify where more support, collaboration, or innovation is needed. The framework is intended not just as a measurement tool, but as a driver of system-wide improvement.
Revolving Doors has submitted a response to the consultation, highlighting the importance of ensuring the framework addresses the realities of multiple disadvantage.
As a national charity working to break the cycle of crisis and crime, our submission draws on the expertise of people with lived experience of the revolving door of crisis, crime, and unmet need. Through our Lived Experience Forums and the National Expert Citizens Group (NECG), we continue to show that sustainable change is only possible when policy and practice are shaped by those who experience the system first-hand.
In our response, we welcomed the potential of the LGOF to:
- Act as a diagnostic and collaborative tool that helps local authorities and partners respond holistically to people experiencing overlapping challenges such as poor mental health, substance use, homelessness, and contact with the criminal justice system.
- Break down silos between health, housing, justice, and social care, driving multi-agency planning, joint commissioning, and pooled resources.
- Embed the voices of lived experience at every stage—from interpreting data to designing and reviewing solutions.
We also called for greater focus on multiple disadvantage within the framework’s metrics. This includes mental health (alongside trauma and neurodiversity), substance dependence, housing and homelessness, and domestic abuse. Our response highlights the risks of focusing too narrowly on treatment numbers, and urges the inclusion of measures that reflect trust, agency, trauma-informed practice, and the non-linear journeys people take towards recovery.
Finally, we emphasised that progress in addressing multiple disadvantage is often incremental. For example, consistent medication pick-up or building trust with services may represent significant steps forward. The framework must therefore capture these meaningful but less visible outcomes, while also recognising the importance of co-production and innovation at a local level.
At its best, the Local Government Outcomes Framework can be a catalyst for prevention, collaboration, and long-term system change. Revolving Doors will continue to champion the role of lived experience in making this vision a reality.
