Manchester hits snooze again on joining Palantir-run NHS data platform

Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board (ICB) has again put off its adoption of an NHS data platform prescribed by the UK government and run by Palantir until there is more evidence that it will be in the "best interests" of the city's population.

The national Federated Data Platform (FDP) was created by the US spy-tech firm under a much-criticized £330 million ($445 million) seven-year contract awarded in November 2023. NHS England, the health quango set to be merged into the central government health department, signed the deal with the controversial US vendor after a series of non-competitive deals totaled £60 million ($81 million).

Greater Manchester ICB, which manages health services for 2.8 million people, deferred a decision on whether to sign up to the FDP. It is the only ICB in England to do so.

A board meeting in May heard how NHS England had not addressed its ...