Greater Manchester rejects Palantir’s NHS data platform, escalating debate over $400M contract

Greater Manchester’s health board has repeatedly refused to adopt Palantir’s federated data platform (FDP), instead relying on its own Analytics and Data Science Platform (ADSP). The board asserts the ADSP is functionally superior and two to three years ahead of Palantir’s offering, and that clinicians and the public trust it more.

The UK government commissioned Palantir in 2023 to build the FDP to unify health data across the National Health Service (NHS), with a contract valued at more than $400 million. The NHS reports that 139 of roughly 200 trusts and 35 of 36 integrated care boards are actively using the FDP, which is designed to reduce wait times, shorten hospital stays, and optimize operating theatre use.

Greater Manchester’s ICB covers a population of around 3 million and has maintained its refusal to adopt the FDP despite national pressure. The ADSP integrates primary care data not available on Palantir’s platform and is described as easier to reconfigure, with leadership claiming it can swap out components like visualization software as needs evolve.

Critics of the Palantir contract, including a bipartisan group of UK politicians, argue the deal creates an unacceptable point of weakness by relying on a single foreign vendor. A parliamentary committee echoed these concerns in July 2025, citing Greater Manchester’s experience as evidence that domestic alternatives exist.

Palantir disputes the claims about the ADSP’s superiority and says thousands of NHS staff use the FDP and have publicly attested to its benefits. The company also disputes the extent of Greater Manchester’s use of the FDP, stating trusts there are using it extensively.