09 or not more than four weeks after the start of the first year of the course, whichever is the later; and ii) the final instalment must be paid before the end of the final year of the course or not more than four weeks after the start of the fourth year of the course, whichever is the earlier. 3. Before making any decision about payment of the higher education bursary the local authority must, as far as reasonably practicable, ascertain and give due consideration to the wishes and feelings of the former relevant child. 119 4. The local authority may withhold payment of any unpaid balance of the higher education bursary during any period when the former relevant child is not pursuing higher education in accordance with the pathway plan(5) for that person. 5. The local authority may recover the whole of the higher education bursary or any part of it from a person to whom payment has been made if there has been a mistake as to the eligibility of that person for the payment. Iain Wright Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Department for Children Schools and Families 21st August 2009 120 Acknowledgements The Department for Education is grateful to the following organisations and professionals who have contributed to the development of this guidance: National Care Advisory Service National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum Office of the Children’s Rights Director John Short Dr Di Hart Val Keen Doug Lawson Rob Dunster Prof. Mike Stein Stewart Betts Sue Hobbs Alison Hartley Nikki O’Shaughnessy Fran Fonseca Lin Phillips Trevor Akerman Sue Whitfield Howard Smith Richard Porter Ian Stewart-Watson Maggie Pepper Joanne Kavanagh Elaine Davidson 121 References and resources to support looked after children’s transition to adulthood Organisation You can find more information on Cont