This section should not be passed over too lightly. It provides that, in line with existing practice, an appeals officer may make an award toward expenses to a person appealing at an appeal hearing but may not make an award in respect of costs. The intention here is to guarantee that a person can still apply for expenses if they have a person representing them at the tribunal but avoids the situation where the social welfare appeals office becomes a cockpit of legalistic wrangle and debate by claimants bringing in heavyweight lawyers and so forth in pursuit of a claim. To do so would defeat the purpose of dealing speedily with appeals.
The provision does not in any way preclude a person who is unhappy with an appeal decision from taking that to a court if they wish to but it avoids the appeals office itself becoming the cockpit of legal battle.