Agenda item

To be moved by Councillor Yasseen and seconded by Councillor Bower.

An amendment to the original motion was accepted by the mover and seconder of the original Motion and, therefore, in accordance with Procedure Rule 18(14) the amendment was incorporated into the Motion for debate (inclusions highlighted in bold italics). 

The original motion was moved by Councillor Yasseen and seconded by Councillor Bower. The amendment was moved by Councillor Read and seconded by Councillor Garnett. The substantive motion was:

That this Council:

Notes that:

1.    In November 2023, NHS England awarded a seven year contract worth up to £330 million to Palantir Technologies to provide the NHS Federated Data Platform. The platform brings together information already held in different NHS systems to support patient care, hospital management, waiting-list planning and wider NHS decision making.

2.    Palantir is a foreign (US based) private software and data analytics company with extensive involvement in military, intelligence, surveillance and immigration enforcement systems.

3.    The Federated Data Platform infrastructure can access and process identifiable and highly sensitive patient information. Therefore raising legitimate questions about which companies should be trusted to operate essential NHS data infrastructure, what access their personnel may require and how that access is independently monitored.

4.    The information people share with their GP, hospital and other health services may include diagnoses, medication, mental health, disability, sexual and reproductive health, family circumstances and other deeply personal information. Residents should not need to understand a complex technology contract to know who is handling this information and why.

5.    Palantir has supplied technology to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for immigration surveillance and enforcement operations. In January 2024, Palantir also announced a strategic partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defence to provide technology in support of “war related missions”. These activities have resulted in serious ethical and human rights concerns about the company.

6.    The British Medical Association (BMA) has passed a resolution declaring Palantir an unacceptable partner for the NHS Federated Data Platform. The resolution calls for an end to Palantir’s continued expansion within the NHS, the termination of existing NHS contracts with Palantir and to support doctors who refuse to use data products supplied by companies associated with warfare and human rights violations.

7.    Medact, Amnesty International and patient and health worker organisations have also raised concerns about human rights, transparency, public trust, procurement, privacy and long term dependence on a single supplier.

8.    On 3 June 2026, the cross-party House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Committee recommended that the Government exercise the February 2027 break clause in the Palantir contract. It called for either an NHS developed replacement or an alternative supplied by UK owned and UK based providers, together with a costed exit plan.

9.    This is already a local issue. The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is using its Federated Data Platform instance for outpatient data quality and patient waiting list validation and is progressing further use of the platform.

10. Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that its current use of Palantir is limited to non-patient data, with a separate governance process required before any expansion.

11. NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board has signed up to the Federated Data Platform but stated that, as of June 2026, none of the data collected within the ICB was flowing into the platform.

12. The National Data Guardian has reported that more than three million people have exercised the National Data Opt-out and has warned that uncertainty or misunderstanding about how health information is used can undermine public trust. A further loss of confidence could lead more people to object to the use of their information, making NHS data less complete and potentially worsening inequalities in health planning and outcomes.

Believes that:

13. People should not have to choose between receiving healthcare and trusting what will happen to the personal information they provide.

14. The issue is not simply that Palantir is a foreign company, The concern is the growing strategic dependence of essential British public services on a private overseas corporation whose ownership, corporate priorities and principal legal jurisdiction sit outside UK democratic control.

15. The most sensitive NHS and Council information should be managed through systems that are publicly accountable, transparent, independently scrutinised and subject to meaningful democratic control.

16. Contractual data safeguards are necessary but safeguards alone do not answer legitimate concerns about the suitability, values and wider activities of a company entrusted with operating critical public infrastructure.

17. Decisions about NHS data infrastructure should take account of ethical conduct, human rights, public confidence, data protection, national resilience, value for money and the risk of becoming technically or contractually dependent on one supplier.

18. Public money allocated to the Federated Data Platform would be better invested in developing sustainable NHS digital expertise and publicly accountable UK based infrastructure.

19. Rotherham Council holds highly sensitive information relating to children, adult social care, safeguarding, housing, benefits, employment and vulnerable residents. The Council should apply the same high standards to its own data and should not knowingly allow Palantir technology to process Council held information.

Resolves to:

20. Call on the Government to exercise the February 2027 break clause in NHS England’s Federated Data Platform contract and publish a fully costed and clinically safe plan to transition to an NHS owned and operated solution or to a transparent UK owned and UK based alternative.

21. Call on The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust to:

-            pause any further rollout or expansion of Palantir technology;

-            add no new patient datasets, functions or purposes to the platform while the  national contract remains under review;

-            publish the relevant Data Protection Impact Assessments and equality assessments, and

22. Call on NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board not to begin transferring ICB held information into the Federated Data Platform and to support the development of a publicly accountable alternative.

23. Request the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board to consider adding to its work programme a referral to the Health Select Commission to examine:

-            the present and proposed use of Palantir technology by local NHS organisations;

-            which patient and non-patient datasets are being processed;

-            the effect on patient confidence, data objections and the National Data Opt-out;

-            the equality implications, particularly for minority communities and groups.

-            alternative systems and the potential costs and risks of withdrawal;

-            and how Rotherham residents will be consulted before any significant expansion of its use.

24. Council to seek appropriate legal and procurement advice, to adopt a formal policy that Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council will not knowingly procure, commission, license, deploy or permit Palantir technology to process Council-held information, either:

- Directly;

- through a principal contractor or subcontractor;

- through partnerships in which the Council is responsible for, or jointly controls, the information.

This policy should apply to Palantir Technologies, companies within the Palantir corporate group and products or services operating on Palantir platforms.

24. Council to send a copy of this motion to:

-            the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care;

-            the Chief Executive of NHS England;

-            the Chair and Chief Executive of NHS South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board;

-            the Chair and Chief Executive of The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust;

-            the Chair and Chief Executive of Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS   Foundation Trust;

-            Rotherham Local Medical Committee;

-            the British Medical Association;

-            all Members of Parliament representing the Rotherham borough.

On being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

Councillor A Carter declared a personal interest in this item as he was a member of the British Medical Association. He remained in the Chamber and voted on the item.