UK reviews Palantir NHS contract ahead of 2027 break clause decision

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UK reviews Palantir NHS contract

Highlights

The UK government is reviewing the 330 million pound, $441 million, Palantir NHS contract ahead of a potential 2027 break clause decision.
A parliamentary committee last week urged ministers to end the Palantir arrangement in 2027 due to data security and supplier concentration risks, despite operational benefits.
Political and procurement scrutiny is rising, highlighted by London Mayor Sadiq Khan blocking a 50 million pound police contract with Palantir last month over value-for-money and ethics concerns.

Contract review before 2027 decision

As reported by Reuters, technology minister Liz Kendall said on Tuesday that the government is carrying out a full review of the 330 million pound, $441 million, contract awarded to U.S. data analytics firm Palantir in 2023. The assessment is examining whether ministers should extend the NHS deal under provisions that allow it to run for as long as seven years, or use a break clause to terminate it when the initial term ends in early 2027.

Kendall told Times Radio that the health secretary is reviewing every aspect of the agreement to ensure Britain gets the right deal. The contract covers a platform designed to link NHS data, and officials must decide by early 2027 whether to continue with it.

A parliamentary committee last week urged ministers to end the arrangement at that point, arguing that Palantir's role creates an unacceptable point of weakness. The committee also warned about the risks of depending on a small group of U.S. technology companies for critical public services, even as it acknowledged reported benefits in waiting list management, operations and hospital discharge planning.

Political and procurement pressure grows

Palantir's NHS work is also attracting wider scrutiny because the company supplies software to the U.S. military and immigration authorities, and because of the political views of co-founder Peter Thiel, an early supporter of President Donald Trump. Campaigners and unions have separately raised concerns over how sensitive health data is handled within the system.

Last month, the Financial Times reported that NHS officials had proposed giving some external staff, including Palantir personnel, broad administrative access to identifiable patient data on parts of the platform. Palantir says its software helps improve patient care and efficiency across the NHS.

Neither Palantir nor NHS England immediately responds to requests for comment in the Reuters report. In a separate sign of growing procurement pressure, London Mayor Sadiq Khan last month blocked a 50 million pound police contract with Palantir, citing value-for-money concerns and questions over whether companies' ethics should be considered in public purchasing.

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