Crucial Doncaster Council audit committee meeting rearranged as just two councillors turn up
Five councillors sit on the committee, but only two were able to attend.
An important meeting of the City of Doncaster Council’s audit committee has not gone ahead because not enough councillors turned up.
The meeting, due to take place at 10am on April 23, 2026, was adjourned to a future date by the deputy chair, Councillor Jane Cox, as only two councillors were present.
Councillors Frank Jackson, David Carroll and Jason Charity, who is the committee chair, were unable to attend the meeting and submitted absence apologies – leaving Cllr Cox and Cllr Gemma Cobby as the only attendees.
It means the meeting, in which numerous annual reports on council governance, contracts and processes are scrutinised and discussed, has been rearranged for May 1, 2026.
Amongst the reports scheduled to be discussed was the annual governance statement, which revealed that Doncaster Council was now under “active monitoring” by the Government.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) revealed on April 21, 2026, that Damian Allen, the council’s chief executive, had contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in November 2025.
It related to a growing pattern of governance concerns he and the authority’s monitoring officer, Scott Fawcus, believed “would impact on the Council’s ability to discharge its functions effectively”.
The monitoring comes as tensions continue to grow inside the authority between senior officials and Reform UK and Conservative councillors.
The governance statement to audit committee said that involving the MHCLG at this stage did not mean full Government intervention was inevitable, despite calls from the Conservatives for such measures.