109ZF.— (1) Subject to subsection (2), no order as to costs shall be made in proceedings before an adjudication officer.

(2) An adjudication officer may, at his or her discretion, award the costs of proceedings referred to in subsection (1) against a relevant provider or the Minister where the adjudication officer determines that the relevant provider or the Minister, as the case may be, has engaged in improper, irregular, unfair or unsatisfactory conduct in connection with–

(a) the investigation of the alleged breach of a relevant obligation giving rise to those proceedings, or

(b) the conduct of those proceedings.

(3) An award of costs against a relevant provider or the Minister under subsection (2) shall be proportionate to the nature and extent of the improper, irregular, unfair or unsatisfactory conduct that the relevant provider or the Minister, as the case may be, is found to have engaged in and the award may be limited to a proportion of the costs of the proceedings before an adjudication officer or to the costs of a particular part of those proceedings.]