The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has moved into active monitoring of City of Doncaster Council after senior officers raised what they described as serious governance concerns, according to documents now published by the authority. The papers say chief executive Damian Allen and monitoring officer Scott Fawcus identified a developing pattern of issues around council and committee proceedings after the 2025 local elections, when Reform UK won control of the chamber and Labour kept the mayoralty. Doncaster Council’s election results page confirms Reform’s sizeable majority, with 37 seats to Labour’s 12 and the Conservatives on 6. The same documents say the arrangement has left the executive and the council chamber under different political control, placing strain on the constitutional framework.

According to the council report, the concerns were serious enough for Mr Allen to seek external legal advice and alert both the Local Government Association and MHCLG under the Best Value Standards and Intervention Framework. The authority says the department’s involvement should not be confused with formal intervention, and that early engagement does not mean the Government has decided to step in. MHCLG said it does not comment on its dealings with individual councils, but added that its stewardship team continuously reviews local authorities’ governance, finances and service delivery.

The row comes amid a wider breakdown in relations inside Doncaster politics. The Yorkshire Post reported that Reform councillors accused senior officers of altering motions without permission during a series of tense meetings, although Coun Craig Ward had already agreed the wording changes in a WhatsApp exchange with Mr Allen. Place Yorkshire has separately described the situation as a governance dispute that prompted monitoring by the department. In April, Reform’s deputy leader on the council, Jason Charity, said the party intended to refer Mr Allen to the chief officers investigatory sub-committee, while insisting the authority itself had now acknowledged the seriousness of the position.

The fallout is also feeding into the argument over Doncaster Sheffield Airport, where Reform is considering revisiting its approval for a £57m loan package linked to the reopening plan. The BBC has reported that the party has also tabled a motion of no confidence in Mayor Ros Jones, accusing her of misleading the public over the timetable for the airport’s return. Reform figures say they were not given enough information when the loan was approved in November 2025.

Mayor Ros Jones has urged councillors to put party interests aside, warning that prolonged political conflict would harm residents. She pointed to Doncaster’s earlier experience of special measures and said the council had previously had to work hard to regain stability, including control of children’s social care, which later received a good Ofsted rating in 2025. With MHCLG now watching the authority closely, the council’s own papers suggest officials are hoping the process will calm relations rather than lead to a more formal intervention.

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Source: Noah Wire Services