Request letters and other documents

An authority user can request that a letter (or any another supported document) be produced for various records.

Requesting a letter

To request a letter or other document:

1. Click the Letters menu, then click Letters.

   The Documents screen appears, initially showing only the Submitted Reference, Product, Document Group, Sub-Category and Templates fields.

2. In the Submitted Reference field, type the Application Number, Permit Reference, Business Number, Licence Reference, Property Reference, Organisation Reference, or similar identifier.

3. In the Product, Document Group, Sub-Category and Templates fields, select the product area, the document group, the (optional) document sub-category and the template of the document that you require.

   For some records, the available templates may be restricted by its current status. The default properties of the selected document appear; some of these properties are editable.

4. For a Building Control, Land Charges, or Planning document, in the Target Response Date field, specify when the recipient is expected to respond.

   Tick the Use non-working days calendar checkbox if you want this period to avoid non-working days (for example, bank holidays).

5. Optionally, in the Recipient Type list, select the type of person who is to be its recipient. The available types depend on the document group. For some Building Control and Planning documents, you may not be able to change the recipient type.

   Exceptionally, if the recipient is unknown to ASSURE you may be able to select Other and then complete the Recipient Name and Recipient Address fields.

   Click Show Recipients to review the recipients and de-select any that are not required. The information shown in the Recipients' Details dialog depends on the application and the recipient type:

   Information shown in the Recipients' Details dialog

   Information	Description
   Name	The recipient's full name, if known, or Owner/Occupier.
   Address	The recipient's address.
   Email Address	The recipient's email address.
   PMoWC	The recipient's preferred method of written contact.
   Type	The nature of the recipient's interest in the application.
   Pref Lang	The recipient's preferred language (for Welsh authorities only).
   Default Template	If the recipient is a member of a professional body, they may have a pre-assigned letter template which overrides your chosen template.
   Response Type	If the recipient is someone who is being re-consulted, their previous response (for example, Objection).

   If you leave the Recipient Type as Not Selected, the Printers, Email Address, or Location field may default to a value defined in the template.

6. Optionally, for a Planning application, if the Recipient Type is set to Reconsult, tick the Preserve the Earliest Decision Date checkbox if you do not want ASSURE to recalculate the Earliest Decision Date.

7. Untick the Allow editing of produced document checkbox if you do not intend to edit this document.

   You cannot edit a produced document unless its template allows it.

8. Tick the Allow Preview checkbox if you want to be able to preview the document before it is distributed.

9. Tick the Delay Send checkbox if you want an emailed document to be paused temporarily in the Awaiting Send status. Set the duration of the delay in the Time Delay (minutes) field. These values may be defaulted from the template.

10. Under Output Method, specify how you prefer the document to be distributed:

    • Click Print if you want it to be printed.

    • Click Email if you want it to be emailed.

    • Click File if you want it to be filed (saved as a PDF).

    The presence of a Printers, Email Address, or Location field depends on which recipients are selected (if any) and their preferred methods of written contact (PMoWC), as well as the selected output method:

    • In the Printers list, select the central printer to which the document will be sent, or Local or LocalAuto to allow the document to be printed at a local printer.

    • In the Email Address field, specify the email address to which the document will be sent. This may be defaulted from the template.

    • In the Location field, specify the share name of the folder to which the document will be filed (do not specify a local path).

11. If you want to produce multiple documents and amalgamate them into a single file, do the following:

    1. Ensure that Output Method is set to File.

    2. In the Location field, specify where the file is to be placed.

    3. Tick the Amalgamate letters into single file checkbox.

    4. Tick the Store in DMS checkbox to store the amalgamated file in a supported third-party Document Management System (DMS), as well as the NEC Document Management repository.

    5. In the Amalgamate File Type field, choose the file format: MS Word (.docx), OpenDocument Text (.odt), or Portable Document Format (.pdf).

    Note

    This feature is available only for an NCS template.

12. If allowed, you can change the content and attachments of the email that is sent by document production when the output method is Email.

    Click Email Content to open the Edit Letter Email Content dialog.

    • Use the HTML editor to change the content of the email.

    • To add attachments, click Choose Files then select the files in the Windows Open dialog and click Open.

    • To remove an attachment, click its Remove File icon.

    Any attachment can be viewed by expanding the ▼ control and choosing the file from the list.

    Note

    The template may not allow you to change the email content and attachments. In this case, the Edit Letter Email Content dialog is uneditable.

13. Tick the Prioritise check box to prioritise the production of this document.

    This checkbox is present only if you are a system administrator.

14. Tick the Manual Release checkbox if you want an emailed or printed document to be held indefinitely in the Awaiting Release status until released by a user.

    This may already be ticked by default, in which case you cannot change it.

15. Click Create.

    • If Use Preferred Method of Written Contact is ticked and any recipient’s PMoWC is Post, but the output method is Email, ASSURE asks you to specify either a printer or a file location.

    • If the document is a letter asking for comments from consultees or neighbours regarding a Land & Property application, ASSURE may ask whether you want to consult all of them or only those who have been added to the application since the previous letter (in which case ASSURE lists them).

    • If the document is confirming a payment in a Grant and Loan application, ASSURE may require you to provide the payment details.

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    Then or otherwise, the Document Queue screen appears.

ASSURE assigns a unique job reference, and adds the document to the queue. The job reference includes the template name, the Application Number (or an equivalent record identifier), and a timestamp.