cted by the application, the agency may then disclose identifying information to the applicant if it considers it appropriate to do so. 10.44. The intermediary agency must take steps to ensure that any person whose consent is required has sufficient information to be able to make an informed decision as to whether to give their consent. This regulation requires the intermediary agency to provide the subject with information about the application and the background of the case. The intermediary agency may also provide the subject with information about the applicant, their circumstances and the reasons for their application. This may include information that identifies the applicant, as the subject will wish to know who is making contact, their reasons for doing so and their expectations, see ISR 16. 10.45. The process of obtaining consent will need to be handled carefully and compassionately and the intermediary agency should advise the subject about such counselling services or other specialist support and advice as may be available. Finally, the intermediary agency must be satisfied that the subject fully understands the nature and circumstances of the request for consent and the implications of any consent decision they might make. 10.46. Adopted people and birth relatives are likely to be in a different position, in that an adopted person has a right to obtain a certified copy of their birth certificate and is likely already to possess a range of information about the subject of the application, including their identity. They may also already have had access to 196 some information from adoption agency records. It is principally for this reason that “identifying information” in this regulation is defined as information, which, whether taken on its own or together wi