Under the 1994 Education Act, all universities and colleges in England and Wales (and post-1992 universities and designated institutions in Scotland) are obliged to provide a student union and are responsible for its financial probity. Student unions are operated autonomously , but the governing body must approve the union’s constitution at least every five years, and must have in place a formal agreement about how the union and the governing body will interact. The institution provides funding to the union and should receive its report and accounts. The parent institution must also ensure that union elections are run on a fair and legal basis.
There must also be effective and transparent mechanisms in place to monitor the finances and general activities of the union on a regular basis, for example quarterly. These reports will probably be to a student liaison committee and/or the finance committee, but the governing body must be assured that the principles laid down in the approved constitution are being met.
As a result of the Charities Act 2006, the status of most student unions in England and Wales is changing. Student unions ceased being exempt charities (a status that derived from that of their parent institution) on 1 June 2010. Most have applied to the Charity Commission to become registered charities. Some are choosing to incorporate as companies limited by guarantee, and this is putting more emphasis on their governance. A project to strengthen Student Union governance, the Good Governance project, has led to the development of some useful resources.
The CUC and NUS have published a supplementary guide (to the CUC Guide) covering the role of the governing body in relation to its Student's Union.
HEFCW has published guidance to institutions on best practice in funding Student Unions in Wales, which should be based on a published Relationship Agreement
The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 has different provisions. Student unions in 
Scotland are due to be reviewed by the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR).