do so. When it does so, it must provide the service in accordance with the requirements of the ISR. A VAA that provides intermediary services is exempt from having to register as an ASA but they need to notify Ofsted and request the variation of their conditions of registration. A local authority should also notify Ofsted that they provide an intermediary service. 10.19. The regulations confer functions on:  ASAs;  adoption agencies;  the courts; and  the Registrar General. The regulations set out the detail of how intermediary services will operate and the circumstances in which the bodies listed above will be able – or required – to disclose information to each other to facilitate the tracing of individuals involved in a person’s adoption. Accepting applications under ISR 5 10.20. Applications may be accepted: 190  from persons adopted before 30 December 2005 for assistance in contacting a birth relative; or  from a relative of a person, adopted before 30 December 2005, for assistance in contacting the adopted person. In respect of adoptions after 30 December 2005, the framework at sections 56-65 of the Act and the Disclosure of Adoption Information (Post-Commencement Adoptions) Regulations 2005 will apply, see chapter 11. 10.21. An intermediary agency must give priority to those applications it receives in respect of adoptions that took place prior to 12 November 1975. This is intended to help intermediary agencies, the Registrar General and the courts manage demand for these services, and to provide priority access to services for those who have the greatest need. These are likely to be those birth relatives who relinquished a child for adoption many years ago, and are now elderly, and adopted people who were adopted many years ago and whose birth parents are 