 to the prospective adopters during the adoption process. This will be the information contained in the child’s permanence report provided by virtue of regulation 31 of the Adoption Agencies Regulations 2005 (AAR). The child’s permanence report will include identifying information about the child, the birth parents, birth siblings and possibly other members of the birth family. It will also include information about the child’s early life and family history, their social, emotional and behavioural development and other matters. 11.4. On receipt of such an application, the agency will need to consider carefully how best to disclose it since it will contain information about their early life and some of this may be upsetting or distressing. Prior to disclosure the agency should consider whether it would be best for the information to be disclosed in parts over time accompanied by appropriate counselling and support. This may help lessen the impact for the adopted person of receiving potentially distressing information about their early life while still enabling them to fulfil their right to receive the information. 11.5. Section 60(4) of the Act provides that an adopted adult has the right to receive from the court which made the adoption order, documents relating to their adoption in so far as they do not contain any protected information. These documents are prescribed in Rule 14.18 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and include the application form for an adoption order, the adoption order itself and reports made to the court by a children’s guardian, a local authority or an adoption agency. An adopted person seeking this information from the court is unlikely to have access to counselling unless this is offered by an adoption agency or an adoption support agency. Adop