Example

When an entitlement for a case is performed for the first time, the Dependency Manager stores new dependency records to show that the case entitlement depends on the claimant's personal details, the evidence recorded against the case, rates, etc.

If the case is subsequently recalculated (either automatically by the Dependency Manager in response to a change in personal details, say, or manually requested by a user), then after recalculation the Dependency Manager compares the dependencies identified during the calculation with those already on the database and finds no differences.

If a new member of the household is added to the case, then when entitlement is recalculated a new dependency will be identified - namely that the case's entitlement now also depends on the new household member's personal details, in addition to the existing dependencies already stored against the case. The Dependency Manager creates a new dependency record on the database to store the additional dependency.

If the new household member is later removed, then when entitlement is recalculated there will be no dependency on the now-removed household member's personal details. The Dependency Manager identifies that the stored dependency on that household member's personal details is now extraneous and removes it from the database, leaving the other dependency records (on the claimant's personal details, the evidence recorded against the case, rates, etc.) still intact.

When the case is eventually closed, it will no longer require support for recalculations¹and so the dependency records are no longer required. For good housekeeping, the Dependency Manager is invoked to remove all dependency records for the case's entitlement. If the case is subsequently reopened then its entitlement can be recalculated and the Dependency Manager recreates all the required dependency records.