Guardian FOI investigation finds 29 NHS trusts listed as "realising benefits" from Palantir's federated data platform say they aren't using it or its apps

Freedom of information responses (100+ requests, obtained by the charity Medact and shared with the Guardian) show that 29 NHS trusts listed by NHS England as "realising benefits" from the £330m Palantir-built Federated Data Platform told Medact the system is not live for them or that they use none of its applications. The Office for Statistics Regulation has said it will take the matter forward under its casework function. NHS England says nearly 140 trusts have reported benefits, including from back-office data submission and analysis. No contract change has occurred, and the underlying FOI responses were not published with the report, so the figures rest on the Guardian's account.

The main issue is how benefits from a large public-sector data and AI contract are reported and checked. If NHS England's published list overstates uptake, ministers and Parliament are working from weaker evidence when they decide whether to use the 2027 break clause. The regulator's involvement is the most concrete development, though a casework review could end with no finding or only a call for clearer wording. The impact is limited for now: 29 trusts is a minority of the roughly 140 NHS England cites, and nothing about the contract, funding or patient care has changed.

The "very misleading" label comes from one senior official and is a characterisation, not a finding. Trusts saying they do not use the apps does not prove NHS England's claim is false, because it counts back-office data submission and analysis as benefits and the two sides may be defining "benefit" differently. The side remarks about Thiel and Palantir's military contracts add colour but nothing about whether this platform works.

1. 01Whether the Office for Statistics Regulation publishes a letter or finding, and whether it criticises how NHS England defines and reports 'realising benefits'.
2. 02Whether NHS England revises or republishes its list of trusts reporting benefits, or sets out its definition and evidence for the nearly 140 figure.
3. 03Any statement from the health secretary or Parliament on the 2027 break clause, and any independent evaluation of uptake and cost against the £330m contract.