he adoption agency’s case records or other information which is not in the public domain. Therefore, this regulation will not apply to any identifying information that the applicant already holds, for example, where an adopted adult has undertaken their own research and has been able to establish the identity and/or whereabouts of the subject. The regulation will also not apply to identifying information which could reasonably be obtained by the applicant from existing public records such as birth, marriage, civil partnership or death certificates held by the Registrar General or information from the electoral register. 10.39. ISR 7.2 applies where intermediary agency discovers that the subject of the application has died or where it determines that the subject is incapable of giving informed consent. Informed consent means that the subject fully understands the nature, circumstances and background of the agency’s request and the implications of their decision to give or withhold consent. 10.40. Where the intermediary agency ascertains that the subject of the application has died, this regulation provides the discretion to disclose identifying information about the subject, having first had regard to the matters specified at ISR 6.2. The intermediary agency must therefore have regard to the welfare of any other person who may be identified by disclosing the identifying information about the subject or any other person who may be affected by the application. 10.41. Each case will be different but the intermediary agency should consider, as a minimum, whether it is appropriate to seek the views of the deceased person’s next of kin before deciding whether to disclose the identifying information. Much will depend on the circumstances, particularly the length of time since t