If the right hon. Gentleman looks at the contract, he will see that it is subscription only: deliveries under supplier software—none; deliveries under third-party software—none. Any programming written under the contract is owned by Palantir. The contract has to be adapted for any next phase so that Palantir can be moved out.
Palantir is not only the wrong technical solution; NHS users report that it is awful to use. An open letter to NHS England said:
“we already have similar tools in use that presently exceed the capability and application of what the FDP is currently trying to develop or roll out”.
An NHS worker said:
“We’re being forced to use a convoluted system that makes even the simplest tasks feel like pulling teeth. It’s demoralising, and honestly, it’s a waste of everyone’s time and public money”.
An NHS data analyst said:
“Not only could similar functionality have been delivered at a fraction of the cost, but the existing tools are already better integrated, more intuitive, and more conducive to collaboration”.
In early 2025, Greater Manchester ICB reported that the FDP
“does not currently have any system-level products that offer the same or better functionality, compared to the custom-built system already in use for NHS GM”.
An NHS developer concerned about Palantir wrote to me to say:
“There are any number of reassuringly boring companies that could deliver this contract, many of them based in the UK, and then we could just get on with the exciting work of using technology to improve care for our patients”—
quite right too.
We must halt this path of chaos before the costs build any higher. I ask the Minister to use the change from NHS England to allow a change of direction towards a distributed, interoperable UK sovereign solution. Will the Minister cancel the expansion of the FDP to community and mental health service providers?