(1)Her Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for the Secretary of State to establish and maintain a register, to be called the Adoption and Children Act Register, containing—
(a)prescribed information about children who are suitable for adoption and prospective adopters who are suitable to adopt a child,
(b)prescribed information about persons included in the register in pursuance of paragraph (a) in respect of things occurring after their inclusion.
(2)For the purpose of giving assistance in finding persons with whom children may be placed for purposes other than adoption, an Order under this section may—
(a)provide for the register to contain information about such persons and the children who may be placed with them, and
(b)apply any of the other provisions of this group of sections (that is, this section and sections 126 to 131), with or without modifications.
(3)The register is not to be open to public inspection or search.
(4)An Order under this section may make provision about the retention of information in the register.
(5)Information is to be kept in the register in any form the Secretary of State considers appropriate.