14.—(1) The Welsh Ministers may make it a condition of entitlement to payment of the postgraduate master's degree loan or any instalment of the loan that an eligible student must provide the Welsh Ministers with the student's United Kingdom national insurance number.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where the Welsh Ministers have imposed a condition under paragraph (1), they must not make payment of the postgraduate master's degree loan or any instalment of the loan to the eligible student, or in the case of an eligible prisoner to the institution or relevant third party, before they are satisfied that the eligible student has complied with that condition.
(3) Despite paragraph (2), the Welsh Ministers may make payment of the the postgraduate master's degree loan or any instalment of the loan to an eligible student if they are satisfied that owing to exceptional circumstances it would be appropriate to make such a payment without the eligible student having complied with the condition imposed under paragraph (1).