All general practices in the United Kingdom are now required to produce an annual report. This paper reports on the analysis of reports in one Family Health Services Authority's area. The reports varied considerably in content, and many of the data were already in the possession of the FHSA for other purposes. The reports lack a clear purpose. Little or no information could be gleaned on the health of the practice population; in particular, morbidity data were absent from the majority of reports. The report mechanism is potentially a useful process, but needs to be further developed with the profession to gain maximum benefit from the process. The changes in the requirements as a result of the new health promotion regulations are a move in the right direction and remedy some of the problems identified in this paper, but the role of the annual report still remains unclear.