A BDA team led by Lester Ellman, Chair, General Dental Practitioners Committee, met with officials from the Department of Health on 25 January to discuss some urgent issues arising from contact the BDA has had with members about the way in which contract discussions are taking place at local level. There was a forthright exchange of views about the calculation of UDAs and about the extent to which PCTs are currently able to use local discretion in resolving issues relating to practitioners who have an atypical 'test year'. The BDA is continuing to develop advice on a range of contractual issues and this will be posted on the website and published through BDA News as soon as it is available.