Retention and confidentiality of records
9.—(1) A case record relating to a child who is placed shall be retained by the responsible authority until the seventy-fifth anniversary of the date of birth of the child to whom it relates or, if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for a period of 15 years beginning with the date of his death.
(2) The requirements of paragraph (1) may be complied with either by retaining the original written record, or a copy of it, or by keeping all of the information from such a record in some other accessible form (such as by means of a computer).
(3) A responsible authority shall secure the safekeeping of case records and shall take all necessary steps to ensure that information contained in them is treated as confidential, subject only to—
(a)any statutory provision under which access to such records or information may be obtained or given; or
(b)any court order under which access to such records or information may be obtained or given.