Fairer Charging (FC) is a DoH initiative whose aim is to standardise and improve the manner by which clients are both assessed and charged for services that they may receive from the Government. It is integral to Supporting People - both initiatives work hand in hand to ensure a balanced package of charges is developed. This involves:

• Management and assessment of Non Residential Care and Domiciliary Care clients utilising a controlled mechanism
• Assessing the ability of clients to pay charges for any of the services received
• Taking into account clients personal and financial circumstances (means and needs)
• Applying a common means test so that the client's basic income equals the defined "basic" level and an additional 25% above their applicable income support level.
• Collecting the charges where appropriate.

LINKS Fairer Charging Manager

ILLY Computer Systems is providing a comprehensive, yet easy to use solution - LINKS Fairer Charging Manager. The system has been developed through a number of workshops held with Local Authorities and through utilisation of existing pre-built components. As part of implementation and delivery, ILLY actively follows the LINKS RAPID Methodology that is geared towards system quality and accountability. This is in line with the PRINCE 2 approach, but tailored for the business environment.

Client data capture and entry - Financial assessment, disability expenditure assessment, care package assessment Powerful Search / Filter - To easily locate the client records Processing rules and calculations - A rules based calculator to enable the team to determine the amount within each category including the potential charge, the net assessable income, capital cap rule and the actual charge

Import / Export - Data can be imported in or extracted to other systems using Open Standards Maintenance - Ability to add and modify details held including the parameters to support rules and calculations; data entries; letter types and reminder periods AdHoc Reporting - Standard reports already identified as useful will be provided in addition to a flexible report generation tool Dialogue, Events, Letters - An event tracking facility will be available to enable the user to set diary reminders for any actions that need to be taken on carried out by a particular date

What is included with the Product? Software licenses These entitle use of the Software and access to full range of support and maintenance services: LINKS FC Manager v3.6 LINKS Administration Tool LINKS Manager LINKS OnLine - LINKS BugBase & LINKS TestBase Optional Products LINKS SP Manager v6.1 Import Interface Modules LINKS Client Interface Module LINKS Management Information Systems Module

Key Benefits Adhering to Government Mandatory Changes Accountability - All expenditure is accounted for down to the penny. Full system audit Increased control - All the key details are available on the system including information on the client, the financial assessment and care package details Tracking - the entire process is logged and can be followed through from beginning to end. Details of amendments are made available and areas of inefficiencies or bottlenecks can be identified Process Flow - Increased automation of processes from initiation through to payment of charges, reducing human error Readily integrated - The system is easily integrated into existing solutions within the organisation ( Social Services, Finance, and Accounts) Flexible architecture - All policy parameters are soft configurable. Designed for high volumes and intricate data manipulation enabling the data views to be changed quickly and dynamically