Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) is backing a campaign urging the Government to trigger the break clause in the NHS data contract with Palantir.
The Back the Break Clause campaign calls for an end to the US tech giant’s involvement in the Federated Data Platform (FDP).
Launched today (1 September), the campaign urges the Government to exercise a February 2027 break clause in the deal.
Committee member Dr David Nicholl, who has been leading DAUK’s work on the FDP, said: “The February break clause gives the Government an important opportunity to properly assess whether continuing with this contract is in the best interests of patients, clinicians and the NHS.
Public money
“Before committing hundreds of millions of pounds of further public money, the Government should publish its revised business case and clearly set out how it is measuring the benefits of the current FDP contract.
“The Government should demonstrate how portable the existing architecture is, and properly assess alternative UK and European suppliers alongside NHS-controlled and in-house options.
“It should also publish a credible transition plan if the decision is made to exercise the break clause.
“There are huge questions around value for money, benefits, data governance, supplier dependency and whether enough has been done to explore alternatives.
“One of the campaign aims is to ensure those questions are answered.”
Back the Break Clause
The Back the Break Clause website allows people to write to their local MP, hospital, Integrated Care Board, and council.
It includes a live tracker records organisations and people that have backed the campaign.
DAUK has consistently raised concerns about Palantir’s involvement in the NHS since the FDP contract, worth up to £330 million over seven years, was awarded in 2023.
The association has extensively engaged with the media and Parliament on the issue, including through its Our Data, Our NHS campaign and parliamentary briefings.
DAUK’s concerns have also been reinforced by Parliament.
Unacceptable point of weakness
In June, the cross-party Science, Innovation and Technology Committee recommended that the Government exercise the February 2027 break clause and either develop an in-house replacement or seek an alternative from UK-owned and UK-based providers.
The committee warned that Palantir’s growing role in critical public infrastructure represented an ‘unacceptable point of weakness’.
In July, the Health and Social Care Committee separately recommended dropping Palantir when the break clause comes up.
Dr Nicholl said: “We recognise the benefits of better use of data across the NHS, but this makes it important that the system is trusted by patients and healthcare professionals.
“We’d urge our members, supporters and the wider public to use the Back the Break Clause website to contact their local representatives and make their voices heard.
“The more people who do, the harder it becomes for the Government and NHS England to ignore those concerns.”
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