Doncaster Council confirms dates for extraordinary audit committee and full council meetings

Extraordinary meetings of the audit committee and full council have been scheduled for March 5, 2026, and March 6, 2026, respectively.

Councillor Jason Charity, chair of the audit committee, announced his committee would be requesting an extraordinary meeting on January 29, 2026, after internal audit work regarding Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) was upgraded from “advisory” to “assurance” work without committee approval.

In the meeting, Cllr Charity and Peter Jackson, head of internal audit at the City of Doncaster Council, expressed disagreement on whether the change to the audit plan was “significant”.

Mr Jackson, who has worked for the council audit department for nearly 28 years, told the committee he did believe the upgrade for DSA audit work constituted a “significant change”.

Cllr Charity, who was reinstated as chair of audit committee in January 2026, following his removal after his fallout with former Reform UK leader Cllr Guy Aston in November 2025, felt the opposite and said the change should have been presented to audit committee for approval.

Both men agreed that the assurance work to be done relating to DSA and the South Yorkshire Airport City (SYAC) project was necessary.

In his statement announcing the calls for the extraordinary meeting, Cllr Charity publicly revealed senior council officers had informed committee members that he, as chair of audit committee, had been criticised by a lawyer.

It is understood that this criticism had never been shared fully with committee members or Cllr Charity, only referred to in conversations.

In December 2025, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) requested “copies of any reports commissioned or paid for by Doncaster Council in the last three years in relation to the position of chair of audit committee”.

The response, issued on January 12, 2026, stated the council held “none” such reports.

Reform UK revealed in January 2026 it would be requesting an extraordinary general meeting of full council following the leak of the DSA lease with Peel.

Media reporting of the leaked lease preceded the full council meeting on January 22, 2026, with the Reform UK group subsequently announcing it would be calling an EGM to discuss the contents of the lease.

However, the LDRS understands that any discussions relating to the contents of the lease in the EGM would likely need to be held in private, due to the lease still being a confidential document, despite the leak.