Contact ASCA in confidence or make a formal complaint
How to make a formal complaint or contact the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) in confidence.
The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) is responsible for enforcing the Fair Dealings Obligations Regulations. These regulations apply to contracts for the purchase of goods from a producer (farmer) in the following sectors:
- dairy (cows milk) from 9 July 2024 for new agreements, and from 9 July 2025 for all agreements
- pigs (from spring or summer 2025 - to be confirmed)
- eggs (date to be confirmed)
- fresh produce (date to be confirmed)
The regulations help to make sure that contracts for the supply of goods from a producer are fair and transparent.
If you’re a producer, you can send a formal complaint to the adjudicator, who can then investigate and take action. If they find a breach of the regulations, they have the power to:
- impose a financial penalty on the business purchaser
- award compensation to the complainant
Send a formal complaint
Download the complaint referral form.
You must submit the following information through this form:
- the details of the alleged failure to comply
- any evidence of the alleged failure to comply
- a statement as to whether the producer is seeking compensation from the purchaser concerned
- the amount of any compensation sought
- the reasons why such compensation is sought
Send the completed form to: asca@defra.gov.uk.
Raise an issue in confidence
If you raise an issue with us in confidence, the information you provide will remain entirely confidential and you can also remain anonymous. Anyone can contact the adjudicator in confidence.
While the adjudicator will not be able to open an investigation under the regulations without a formal complaint, the information you provide will help inform the activities of the adjudicator and may help positively influence business behaviour in the future.
Email the adjudicator in confidence at: ASCA-in-confidence@defra.gov.uk
What you can send a formal complaint about
You (the producer) have the right to complain to the adjudicator about milk purchase contracts that fail to comply with the regulatory requirements, or the obligations not being met by the purchaser you have contracted with.
You can send a formal complaint about:
- not having a written milk purchase contract in place at all
- where something required by the regulations has not been included in your milk purchase contract
- where something included in your milk purchase contract does not comply with the regulations
- failure of the purchaser to respond within 7 days to your request for an explanation as to how a new price has been determined following a price review for contracts that use a variable price determined by the purchasers
The adjudicator can only investigate your complaint after you have made the complaint to the purchaser using the dispute resolution process in your contract and 28 days have passed, unless:
- you have no written contract in place
- your written contract has no provision for a dispute resolution
- the dispute resolution procedure in your contract does not comply with the Regulations
What you cannot send a formal complaint about
The adjudicator cannot provide specific assistance or information as to whether a potential complaint, if made, will comply or not with these Regulations. Doing so may result in a conflict of interest if you submit a complaint to the adjudicator.
The adjudicator can answer general enquiries about the scope of the regulations and direct you to potentially relevant parts of our guidance.
Check if your question is answered in our guidance first.
If you are still unsure whether your concern is one that can be referred to the adjudicator, contact us or seek independent legal advice before submitting a complaint.
If your enquiry is a general one about policy intent of the regulations or the adjudicator, refer to our guidance. We will not respond to these enquiries.
Complaints that have already been decided
The adjudicator is unable to investigate a complaint that has already been decided, unless it is a complaint where new evidence has become available, and no civil penalty or compensation has been imposed in the past.
Disputes
There may be some instances of contractual disputes that would fall under contract law rather than the ASCA’s remit. In these situations, seek independent legal advice as to how you can take a dispute forwards.
If your enquiry is about a Freedom of Information request, email data.protection@defra.gov.uk.
What happens next
Once you submit a complaint, we will acknowledge receipt and assign a case handler. This will be your point of contact throughout the complaint process.
The adjudicator will then check your complaint form to make sure it is complete and we have all the evidence required from you to consider the complaint fully. We will contact you if we require any further information from you at this stage.
The complaint will then be triaged in order to assess whether the grounds of the complaint are in accord with the criteria set out in the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024.
If we are not able to take your complaint forward, we will write to you notifying you of this decision and our reasons for it.