MPs urge Government to cancel Palantir's NHS contract

MPs have called on the Government to cancel the NHS contract of US software company Palantir.

Parliament (c) Enrique/Pixabay

Parliament (c) Enrique/Pixabay

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee urged the Government to exercise the 2027 break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform Contract with Palantir and either develop an in-house replacement or seek an alternative UK provider.

Dame Chi Onwurah, chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, said the Government should ‘reduce the UK's dependence on a small number of big US tech companies like Palantir', arguing its ‘current position leaves us seriously exposed'.

‘The UK can and should be aiming for technology sovereignty in critical parts of our public sector and supporting domestic alternatives through smarter procurement,' she added.

The move was backed by Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International UK's crisis response manager, who said Palantir's support of the Israeli military and intelligence services meant it ‘should have no role in our health system or wider public sector'.

‘The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee is absolutely right to call for Palantir's contract with the NHS to be terminated,' Benedict said.

‘The Government must act now – terminating its contracts with Palantir and removing the company from every corner of public life – including from our NHS, the Ministry of Defence, and British policing.'

A Government spokesperson said: 'Digital platforms are already making a real difference to public services, and the NHS Federated Data Platform is joining up care, speeding up cancer diagnoses and ensuring thousands of additional patients can be treated each month, with strict data security requirements in place.

'More broadly, our Roadmap for Digital Government sets out a detailed programme of reform with clear milestones and ongoing progress tracking already in place. We are also acting to reduce reliance on any single tech supplier, with protecting citizens' data and ensuring value for taxpayers at the heart of everything we do.

'We welcome the committee's report and will consider its recommendations carefully.'

During an interview on the Today programme on Monday, health and social care secretary James Murray said the contract was being ‘reviewed at the moment ahead of its breakpoint next year'. 

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