http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/31/section/16LCChildren Act 2004An Act to make provision for the establishment of a Children’s Commissioner; to make provision about services provided to and for children and young people by local authorities and other persons; to make provision in relation to Wales about advisory and support services relating to family proceedings; to make provision about private fostering, child minding and day care, adoption review panels, the defence of reasonable punishment, the making of grants as respects children and families, child safety orders, the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, the publication of material relating to children involved in certain legal proceedings and the disclosure by the Inland Revenue of information relating to children.texttext/xmlenStatute Law Database2026-05-29Expert Participation2026-04-29 Children Act 2004s. 26(1AA)Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014Deddf Gwasanaethau Cymdeithasol a Llesiant (Cymru) 2014s. 14(4)s. 199(2)art. 2art. 4Sch. 12Children Act 2004s. 16E(1)(aa)Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026s. 2(2)(b)s. 78(5)Children Act 2004s. 16G(4A)Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026s. 3(3)(a)s. 78(5)Children Act 2004s. 16G(8)Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026s. 3(3)(c)s. 78(5)Children Act 2004s. 16J(6)(7)Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026s. 3(4)(b)s. 78(5) Part 216LC1The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision for or in connection with—aspecifying a description of consistent identifier for the purposes of this section;brequiring or authorising the disclosure of the consistent identifier to a designated person for the purpose of enabling the designated person to comply with subsection (5).2A disclosure required or authorised by the regulations does not breach any obligation of confidence owed by the person disclosing the identifier.3“Consistent identifier” means any identifier (such as, for example, a number or code used for identification purposes) that—arelates to a child, andbforms part of a set of similar identifiers that is of general application.4Subsection (5) applies if—aa designated person (see subsection (10)) processes information about a child, andbthe child is one to whom a consistent identifier of the description specified under subsection (1) relates.5If this subsection applies the designated person must include the consistent identifier in the information processed (but this is subject to subsections (6) to (8)).6Subsection (5) applies only so far as the designated person considers that the inclusion of the consistent identifier is likely to facilitate the exercise by any person of a function of that person that relates to safeguarding or promoting the welfare of children.7Subsection (5) does not apply if the designated person considers that including the consistent identifier in the information processed would be more detrimental to the child than not including it.8The designated person need not comply with subsection (5) if—ait does not know the consistent identifier, andbit reasonably considers that finding it out would cause unreasonable delay to the processing of the information.9A designated person’s compliance with subsection (5) does not breach any obligation of confidence owed by the designated person.10In this section “designated person” means a person designated for the purposes of this section in regulations made by the Secretary of State.11A person may be designated as mentioned in subsection (10) only if the person is—aa person listed in section 11(1) (persons and bodies under a duty to make arrangements to safeguard and promote welfare), orba person who is a designated childcare or education agency for the purposes of section 16E (local arrangements for safeguarding and promoting welfare of children).12A designated person must, in discharging any duty imposed on it by this section, have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State.13Where a person (a “service provider”) provides services pursuant to arrangements made by a designated person in connection with the exercise of any function of the designated person that relates to safeguarding or promoting the welfare of children, this section applies to the service provider as it applies to the designated person.14The reference in subsection (6) to the inclusion of a consistent identifier being likely to facilitate the exercise of a function is to it being likely to facilitate that exercise directly (rather than by means of a trial, study, audit or any other indirect means).15In this section, “processes”, “processed” and “processing” are to be read in accordance with the meaning of “processing” in Parts 5 to 7 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (see section 3(4) and (14) of that Act).Ss. 16LA-16LD and cross-heading inserted (29.4.2026 for specified purposes) by Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (c. 21), ss. 4, 78(1)(a)(5)