Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference - Finance & Governance Committee 

Name: Finance & Governance Committee  

Status: A standing committee subject to the rules of the Council’s Standing Orders. 

Areas of Responsibility: 

  1. In conjunction with the Parish Clerk and RFO to prepare an annual expenditure budget for inclusion in the Precept submission and the approval of Council. 

  1. To review insurance requirements. 

  1. To review financial controls, including the requirement to conduct 4 in-depth financial reviews each financial year. 

  1. To review the investment policy. 

  1. To review the risk management scheme 

  2. To review policies relevant to the committee and council’s finances and strategy and ensure policies and terms of reference embed biodiversity to meet the statutory duty.

  3. To ensure sustainable procurement by a. Seeking, wherever possible, to only use contractors and suppliers who have their own environmental policy, which is continually reviewed, updated and measured against recognised, best practice examples. b. Prioritising local low carbon, or plastic free suppliers and goods. 

  4. To develop and review the council’s five-year business plan  

  5. To monitor the financial activities and actions of the Council’s committees and provide timely advice as required.   

Membership  

Chairman and Vice Chairman of Council. 

Chairman or Representative from each Standing Committee of the Council. 

Councillors who have expressed an interest and have undertaken Council finance training. 

Non-councillor members are not permitted.  

Chairman – The Chairman of Council will be the chairman of the committee. 

Vice-chairman – The Vice-chairman of Council will be the vice-chairman of the committee.  

Quorum 

A Quorum shall be three, or one-third of the total membership, whichever is the greater. 

Meetings 

The Committee shall meet four times in each financial year to review Council finances; in January and November each year to consider the budget and precept, and as often as required. 

Meetings shall take place at the Parish Office.  

Chairman 

The Chairman shall be responsible for: 

  1. The conduct of meetings. 

  1. Presenting the minutes of committee meetings to full Council and seeking ratification of proposals made. 

Adopted by Ruskington Parish Council on 14 July 2026 Min ref 8.1., page 48-2026