The Independent Review Mechanism for Adoption and Fostering (IRM) is managed by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education. Its responsibility is to review qualifying determinations (referred to hereafter as QDs) made
by an adoption agency or fostering service provider about a person’s suitability to adopt or foster and to make recommendations to the provider or agency. It also considers applications from people applying to receive information from adoption records (where the adoption agency has made
a determination not to accept their application or to disclose or withhold information against the wishes of the person to whom the information relates).