There have been many contentious points raised for and against consultants since the Government's announcements last week. Part of the reason there is such contention is that there is very little, if any, hard data on how consultants spend their time, for better or worse. This is part of the management vacuum. It would surely be better if we could debate and make policy on the basis of hard facts, not make deductions about how consultants respond to incentives implicit in their common contract. We do not know what consultants are doing. Many are doing superb work, well beyond what the common contract requires. Some are using the laxity of the contract to their advantage. How much time are they spending with public and private patients? We just do not know the answer.