The motion follows the £330+ million contract awarded to Palantir in 2023.

Rotherham councillors and campaigners have urged the council to reject Palantir in processing NHS data in a newly approved motion.

Independent Councillor Taiba Yasseen brought forward a motion calling on Rotherham Council and the national government to end the controversial NHS software contract with Palantir, a US-based company.

At a full council meeting on July 15, the motion was approved by a majority vote.

In November 2023, Palantir were awarded a seven-year contract worth up to £330 million by NHS England to provide the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP), bringing together information held in different NHS systems.

The motion references concerns about how patient data could be handled by Palantir staff, such as diagnoses, medication, disabilities, sexual and reproductive health, and other personal information.

It notes that the company supplied technology to US immigration for surveillance operations, and in 2024 announced a partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Defence to provide technology in support of “war related missions”.

The motion asks for the council to call on the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, and Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation trust to pause further expansion of Palantir technology, and add no new patient datasets to the FDP while the contract is under review.

It also calls for the council’s scrutiny committee to look into how Palantir are using patient and non-patient data, and how Rotherham residents will be consulted before further expansion.

After the vote, Cllr Taiba Yasseen said: “Rotherham is a poor community and has high levels of deprivation, and we’ve got the mandate to represent our wards to ensure that we’re fighting for their rights to have their personal data protected against potentially nefarious uses.

“The idea that I, as an immigrant, in the future might say something, that Palantir could use my health records and give that to somebody, just shocks the life out of me.”

Seconding the motion, Green Party Cllr Mick Bower, said: “When we actually talk to people about this contract, a lot of them, it’s the first they’re hearing of it and they’re horrified when they find out the details.

“The more we get this out in the open, through motions and building up pressure, hopefully we will be able to convince central government that this is the wrong move.”

Members of local campaigning group, Rotherham Friends of Palestine, attended the council meeting to show their support to the motion.

Mia Hollingsworth-Smith, chair of Rotherham Friends of Palestine, expressed her concerns for Rotherham residents.

“It does not have the interests of everyday people in mind: its co-founder has stated that the NHS “makes people sick” and needs to be “rip[ped]… from the ground.

“This motion is a crucial first step in protecting Rotherham residents, their interests and values.”