Barnsley Council Reform Claims Explained: DOGE Audits, Councillor Powers and the Facts Residents Need

Why bold slogans do not change how local government actually works

In recent weeks, leaflets delivered across parts of Barnsley have made strong Reform claims about bringing in “DOGE” to completely audit Barnsley Council’s finances, expose waste and corruption, and fix the borough’s problems.

It sounds decisive.
It sounds simple.
But it is not how local government works.

This article sets out — clearly and factually — what councillors can and cannot do, who actually audits councils, and why residents should be cautious of claims that rely on powers that do not exist.

Barnsley Council: the basic facts residents should know

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has 63 elected councillors.

Those 63 councillors make decisions collectively through:
• Full Council
• Cabinet
• Committees
• Scrutiny panels

No individual councillor, political group, or external organisation has unlimited authority.
Even councillors in administration do not gain unchecked powers.

FAQ: How many councillors are on Barnsley Council?
Barnsley Council has 63 councillors, and decisions are made collectively. No single councillor or party can act unilaterally.

What powers do Barnsley councillors actually have?

Councillors are elected representatives. They are not auditors, executives, or investigators.

Councillors can:
• Vote on budgets, policies and strategies
• Sit on committees relevant to their role
• Ask questions at council and committee meetings
• Use formal scrutiny processes to examine decisions
• Request information only where it is necessary to perform their duties
• Refer concerns to internal audit, external auditors or regulators
• Represent residents’ concerns to council officers

FAQ: Can councillors audit a council?
No. Councillors cannot conduct audits. Audits are carried out by professional internal audit teams and independent external auditors under statutory public audit frameworks.

All councillor activity must operate within the council’s constitution and the law.

What councillors cannot do under local government law

This is where many claims collapse under scrutiny.

Councillors cannot:
• Demand unrestricted access to all council documents
• View commercially confidential contracts on request
• Access legally privileged advice
• Override data protection law
• Direct council officers in their day-to-day roles
• Threaten officers for refusing unlawful requests
• Create parallel audit bodies with statutory powers
• Replace professional internal or external auditors

These limits apply to all 63 Barnsley councillors, regardless of party or seniority.

FAQ: Can councillors demand access to all council documents?
No. Councillors may only access information that is genuinely required to carry out their specific role.

Meeting of National and Regional Mayors

Who controls access to Barnsley Council information?

Every council in England must appoint a statutory officer called the Monitoring Officer.

Their role is to ensure:
• Decisions are lawful
• The council constitution is followed
• Confidential and sensitive information is protected
• Councillors only access information they are legally entitled to

When a councillor asks for documents, the test is simple:

Is this information genuinely required for that councillor to carry out their specific role?

If the answer is no, access must be refused.

FAQ: Who decides what information councillors can see?
The Monitoring Officer decides, based on law, proportionality and necessity.

If a councillor cannot lawfully access something, a political party or private organisation certainly cannot.

DOGE audits and Reform claims: what the law actually allows

Despite how it is presented, “DOGE” is not a recognised public audit body in the UK.

Reform UK is a private company.
It has:
• No statutory authority
• No powers of compulsion
• No right to confidential or legally privileged material
• No exemption from data protection or procurement law

At best, what is being described is a party-led review exercise, reliant on cooperation and publicly available information.

FAQ: Can Reform UK audit Barnsley Council?
No. Reform UK has no legal power to audit any council. Councils are audited under statutory public sector audit rules.

Calling this a “complete audit” is misleading.

Reform claims tested elsewhere: lessons from Kent County Council

These claims are not hypothetical.

At Kent County Council, similar attempts were made.

• Requests for unrestricted access to documents were refused
• Council officers were correctly advised they were under no obligation
• Letters were sent suggesting non-compliance would be “gross misconduct”
• That claim was wrong, and officers were protected by law

FAQ: What happened when Reform tried this elsewhere?
At Kent County Council, governance rules held firm and unlawful access was refused.

This was not obstruction.
It was lawful local government working exactly as intended.

What Barnsley residents actually prioritise

Despite the volume of immigration rhetoric, polling and local engagement consistently show that cost of living pressures dominate public concern.

Residents worry most about:
• energy bills
• food prices
• housing costs
• council tax
• transport
• access to services

FAQ: What are Barnsley residents most concerned about?
Cost of living pressures consistently rank above immigration in local priorities.

Slogans do not pay household bills.

Lessons from Kent residents should not ignore

In Kent, decisions taken under Reform control included:

• Closure of a £50,000 fund designed to support the most vulnerable
• Redirection of money
• Employment of a political assistant on a salary of around £49,000, funded by council tax

At the same time:

• £50 million was taken from service budgets
• Used to pay down debt early
• Resulting in higher long-term interest costs, not savings

FAQ: Is paying off council debt always a good idea?
No. Early repayment can increase costs and reduce funding for services if done improperly.

Final thought: Barnsley deserves honesty, not theatre

If something sounds too simple to fix complex public finances, it usually is.

Barnsley needs:
• Honest explanations
• Lawful scrutiny
• Transparent decision-making
• Realistic local solutions

Understanding what councillors can and cannot do is not political spin.
It is essential to rebuilding trust.

Making common sense, common again.