Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has (a) received information on purchasers not explaining variable price changes within seven days of a price review and (b) taken steps to ensure producers receive (i) timely and (ii) transparent pricing information.

Under the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, purchasers must explain variable price changes within 7 days of a price review. The Regulations now apply to all milk purchase contracts.

Breaches can be reported to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA).

Whilst it is not appropriate to provide the details of any live investigations, to date, ASCA has received 1 formal complaint about a non-compliant milk contract (currently under investigation).

ASCA has also received a number of informal ‘in confidence’ concerns raised by producers across a range of issues. Where able to do so without revealing the identity of a producer, ASCA will raise these concerns directly with a milk purchaser.