NHS England is moving forward with a major accountability measure for its digital flagship, the Federated Data Platform (FDP), by tendering a £600,000 contract for an independent evaluation partner. This crucial three-year assessment is slated to run from February 2026 to February 2029. The evaluation is mandated because the FDP is part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP), requiring ongoing, transparent, and rigorous independent scrutiny.
The chosen specialist organisation will conduct a rigorous assessment across several key areas. The evaluation is tasked with confirming whether the FDP has achieved its stated objectives, measuring its impact to date and potential future effects, and capturing vital learning on value for money and accountability to health system stakeholders. The scope extends to operational factors, including assessing data quality, organisational readiness, and the capacity of local systems to fully utilise the platform. It will also examine the platform's effectiveness in supporting population health management tools and its contribution to strategic commissioning decisions. Ultimately, success will be benchmarked on whether data insights deliver tangible improvements in care coordination, waiting times, safety outcomes, and service planning for patients and clinicians.
The FDP represents a significant investment in the NHS's data infrastructure. The core technology and rollout are supported by the FDP and Associated Services contract, valued at approximately £330 million over seven years. This contract was awarded in November 2023 to a consortium led by Palantir Technologies UK, which includes Accenture, PwC, Carnall Farrar, and NECS. Preliminary adoption figures are substantial, with multiple trusts, encompassing acute, community, mental health, and children’s hospitals, signed up by October 2025, and specific products like Cancer 360 seeing growing usage. Official government estimates, detailed in the accounting officer assessment, project billions of pounds in benefits over a multi-year period, spanning financial efficiencies and wider societal value.
The independent evaluation arrives amid persistent debates regarding the FDP's procurement, costs, data privacy, and interoperability. Critics have publicly challenged official adoption figures, underscoring the need for this external assessment. NHS England has complemented this major evaluation with smaller, focused analytical work. For example, a separate £35,000 contract was awarded to Akeso and Company Limited in late 2025 to research user needs and identify practical barriers to FDP adoption among trusts and integrated care systems. Furthermore, internal check-and-challenge meetings, despite positive government assessments, have stressed the ongoing necessity to prioritise technical testing, training, and robust public engagement to ensure the FDP maximises its positive impact.
