Cllr Samantha Gardiner writes to Government about NHS data platform contract

The letter follows discussions at Lewisham Council's Healthier Communities Select Committee and raises concerns about the future use of Palantir-linked technology within NHS systems. 

It calls on the Government to trigger the November break clause in the contract – preventing any extension beyond 2027 – and highlights concerns around public trust, data governance, accountability and the handling of sensitive health information.

You can read the letter in full below: 

Dear Secretary of State,

Re: NHS Federated Data Platform and the urgent need to trigger the November break clause

I am writing as the Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care in Lewisham – and as a nurse – to urge the Government to trigger the November break clause in the NHS Federated Data Platform contract with Palantir Technologies and to prevent any renewal of the contract in 2027.

Lewisham residents and community groups have contacted us about Palantir’s role in the NHS. Their concerns are clear and understandable: people want to know where their health data is stored, who has access to it and whether deeply sensitive public health information is becoming dependent on a company whose wider record raises profound ethical, privacy and democratic concerns.

At the Lewisham Council Healthier Communities Select Committee on 3 September, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust was questioned directly about its use of Palantir-linked technology through the NHS Federated Data Platform. The Trust told the committee that the platform is currently being used for operational systems including theatre management and discharge coordination via the Optica platform.

The trust is rolling out EPIC next year, which will remove the need for the current theatre list system, although the trust currently has no alternative in place to replace its use of Palantir technologies within Optica.

Lewisham Council’s Green Party administration’s position is clear: we do not believe Palantir Technologies should have a role in our NHS, in our public services, or in the handling of residents’ sensitive health data.

Our opposition is based on three principles: 

Human rights matters. Public services should not rely on companies whose technology is linked to military and immigration enforcement systems that raise serious ethical concerns. 

Sensitive NHS data must be protected from any risk of misuse, commercial exploitation, or future discriminatory tracking.

Democratic control matters. The NHS should not become dependent on companies whose power, business model and accountability sit far outside the communities they affect. 

Protecting residents’ data goes to the heart of consent, confidence and accountability in public services. If people lose trust in how their health information is used, the damage will not only be political, but it will also undermine public health, patient confidence and the safe use of data across the NHS.

Local scrutiny can only go so far. The decision on whether Palantir remains embedded in NHS infrastructure is ultimately a national one. That is why we are asking the Government to act now, use the November break clause, and begin the transition to an accountable, transparent and publicly trusted alternative. 

Parliamentary concern has also grown. The Government is reported to be reviewing the £330 million NHS Federated Data Platform contract, and MPs have warned that Palantir’s role creates an unacceptable weakness in public infrastructure, with concerns about patient confidentiality, public trust and reliance on a US supplier.

The Health and Social Care Committee has also urged ministers to prepare alternatives ahead of the break clause so that the NHS is not left without a workable replacement. This is not a narrow procurement matter. It is a political choice about who we trust with our public services, how we protect people’s most sensitive information, and whether the NHS remains rooted in public accountability. 

I therefore urge you to support the triggering of the November break clause, to rule out renewal of the contract in 2027, and to ensure that any future NHS data platform is publicly accountable, transparent, rights-respecting and genuinely trusted by patients and communities. 

Lewisham will not stay quiet while private surveillance technology is allowed deeper into the heart of our NHS. Health data belongs in public hands, governed in the public interest, and protected to the highest possible standards. 

I would welcome your urgent response setting out how the Government intends to address these concerns, what assessment is being made of alternatives, and whether ministers will commit to using the break clause rather than allowing the contract to continue by default. 

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Samantha Gardiner 
Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Social Care, Lewisham Council