Watchdog 'disappointed' it took NHS England over a year to release details of access to Palantir COVID-19 data store
(2021/08/18)
- Reference: 1629293346
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/08/18/nhs_england_palantir_register/
- Source link:
The health and social care data watchdog for England chastised the UK government for failing to publish details of information released from the Palantir-based COVID-19 data store within a year of the project's start.
In her [1]Annual Report for 2020-2021 , National Data Guardian (NDG) for health and social care Dr Nicola Byrne said NHS England and NHS Improvement, which contracted US spy-tech specialist Palantir – along with [2]AWS, Google and Microsoft – in 2020 to build a national data store in response to the pandemic, had committed to publish a full register of releases of data from the privately run database.
The release was designed "to promote transparency in how information is used and shared, and provide assurance that disseminations are considered carefully to ensure that they are lawful," the report said.
[3]
However, NHS England and NHS Improvement failed to provide that information in the period covered by the NDG report. "It was disappointing that by the end of the period this report covers the register had not yet been published," Dr Byrne said. The NDG was informed that NHS England and NHS Improvement "would continue to work with others to develop the data dissemination register."
Transparency – we've heard of it
The national COVID-19 data store attracted controversy during the early stages of the pandemic as campaign groups fought for greater transparency after its role in the government’s response [4]first emerged in March 2020 . A campaign for greater openness led to [5]the government publishing contracts in June 2020 .
Data and analytics platform firm Palantir is famously [6]associated with the CIA and the much-criticised US immigration agency ICE , while its [7]founder helped finance impeached ex-president Donald Trump. Despite the plan for the data store to span only the duration of the pandemic, in December 2020 the government [8]signed a two-year deal with Palantir to run it , without competition or scrutiny.
[9]Palantir abandons any attempt at curating nice-guy image with ‘Global Information Dominance Experiments’
[10]In the Navy, we want to share data with some ease. In the Navy, can someone help us with this please?
[11]NHS England staff voice concerns about access controls on US spy-tech firm Palantir’s COVID-19 data store
[12]Of all the analytics firms in the world, why is Palantir getting its claws into UK health data?
Following a [13]campaign for a judicial review , in March 2020, the [14]government agreed not to expand Palantir’s work on the NHS data store beyond COVID-19 without notifying the public.
At the same time, it agreed to engage citizens about Palantir's role in the NHS via patient juries, apparently bowing to pressure from campaigners.
[15]
[16]
But those seeking transparency will not be assured by the time it took NHS England to publish the details of those accessing the store. They were finally [17]published on 12 August 2021, less than a week before the NDG published its report.
NHS England's commitment to publish those details stem from a meeting with the NDG before the two-year deal with Palantir was published.
[18]
"The NDG's advice was sought at a meeting with her panel, particularly on how to demonstrate trustworthiness to the public of arrangements with commercial partners," the report said.
"She emphasised the importance of communicating openly with the public about what the plans were for the data store and data platform, what organisations would be involved, how the data was being used and released, and what current and future uses were envisaged for the data. Subsequently the contract for the re-procurement was published, alongside communications from NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHSX about this."
But it is not only campaigners, including legal group Foxglove and health data group medConfidential, and the National Data Guardian who are concerned about transparency in the NHS's dealings with analytics firms. NHS England's [19]own data analysts have complained about lack of transparency in how their requests to access data are managed – why they are being turned down and by whom.
[20]
The Register has asked NHS England why took until 12 August 2021 to publish the release record. It is yet to respond. ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-data-guardian-2020-2021-report
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/05/uk_government_publishes_covid_19_contracts/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://healthtech.blog.gov.uk/2020/03/28/the-power-of-data-in-a-pandemic/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/05/uk_government_publishes_covid_19_contracts/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/26/palantir_s_1_ipo_filing_ice/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2016/11/22/thiel_asks_silicon_valley_to_help_trump/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/21/nhs_awards_23m_twoyear_deal/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/13/palantir_global_information_dominance/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/23/royal_navy_data_integration/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/05/palantir_covid_data_store/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/15/palantir_uk_sci_tech_committee/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/24/nhs_palantir_judicial_review/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/30/ukgov_caves_over_nhs_palantir_lawsuit/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/data-dissemination-register/
[18] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/05/palantir_covid_data_store/
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
In her [1]Annual Report for 2020-2021 , National Data Guardian (NDG) for health and social care Dr Nicola Byrne said NHS England and NHS Improvement, which contracted US spy-tech specialist Palantir – along with [2]AWS, Google and Microsoft – in 2020 to build a national data store in response to the pandemic, had committed to publish a full register of releases of data from the privately run database.
The release was designed "to promote transparency in how information is used and shared, and provide assurance that disseminations are considered carefully to ensure that they are lawful," the report said.
[3]
However, NHS England and NHS Improvement failed to provide that information in the period covered by the NDG report. "It was disappointing that by the end of the period this report covers the register had not yet been published," Dr Byrne said. The NDG was informed that NHS England and NHS Improvement "would continue to work with others to develop the data dissemination register."
Transparency – we've heard of it
The national COVID-19 data store attracted controversy during the early stages of the pandemic as campaign groups fought for greater transparency after its role in the government’s response [4]first emerged in March 2020 . A campaign for greater openness led to [5]the government publishing contracts in June 2020 .
Data and analytics platform firm Palantir is famously [6]associated with the CIA and the much-criticised US immigration agency ICE , while its [7]founder helped finance impeached ex-president Donald Trump. Despite the plan for the data store to span only the duration of the pandemic, in December 2020 the government [8]signed a two-year deal with Palantir to run it , without competition or scrutiny.
[9]Palantir abandons any attempt at curating nice-guy image with ‘Global Information Dominance Experiments’
[10]In the Navy, we want to share data with some ease. In the Navy, can someone help us with this please?
[11]NHS England staff voice concerns about access controls on US spy-tech firm Palantir’s COVID-19 data store
[12]Of all the analytics firms in the world, why is Palantir getting its claws into UK health data?
Following a [13]campaign for a judicial review , in March 2020, the [14]government agreed not to expand Palantir’s work on the NHS data store beyond COVID-19 without notifying the public.
At the same time, it agreed to engage citizens about Palantir's role in the NHS via patient juries, apparently bowing to pressure from campaigners.
[15]
[16]
But those seeking transparency will not be assured by the time it took NHS England to publish the details of those accessing the store. They were finally [17]published on 12 August 2021, less than a week before the NDG published its report.
NHS England's commitment to publish those details stem from a meeting with the NDG before the two-year deal with Palantir was published.
[18]
"The NDG's advice was sought at a meeting with her panel, particularly on how to demonstrate trustworthiness to the public of arrangements with commercial partners," the report said.
"She emphasised the importance of communicating openly with the public about what the plans were for the data store and data platform, what organisations would be involved, how the data was being used and released, and what current and future uses were envisaged for the data. Subsequently the contract for the re-procurement was published, alongside communications from NHS England and NHS Improvement and NHSX about this."
But it is not only campaigners, including legal group Foxglove and health data group medConfidential, and the National Data Guardian who are concerned about transparency in the NHS's dealings with analytics firms. NHS England's [19]own data analysts have complained about lack of transparency in how their requests to access data are managed – why they are being turned down and by whom.
[20]
The Register has asked NHS England why took until 12 August 2021 to publish the release record. It is yet to respond. ®
Get our [21]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-data-guardian-2020-2021-report
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/05/uk_government_publishes_covid_19_contracts/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://healthtech.blog.gov.uk/2020/03/28/the-power-of-data-in-a-pandemic/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/05/uk_government_publishes_covid_19_contracts/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/26/palantir_s_1_ipo_filing_ice/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2016/11/22/thiel_asks_silicon_valley_to_help_trump/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/21/nhs_awards_23m_twoyear_deal/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/08/13/palantir_global_information_dominance/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/23/royal_navy_data_integration/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/05/palantir_covid_data_store/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/15/palantir_uk_sci_tech_committee/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/24/nhs_palantir_judicial_review/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/03/30/ukgov_caves_over_nhs_palantir_lawsuit/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[17] https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/data-dissemination-register/
[18] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/05/palantir_covid_data_store/
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/databases&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YR0uuNaWjC2TH3joEresegAAAQU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Watchdog 'disappointed'
Pascal Monett
Government watchdogs : all bark, no bite.
Said watchdog should have blocked the deal as soon as it was apparent that a foreign company was going to be managing the data. It makes no difference that the company was based in the US, nor is it really important that the company was Palantir (although really, the smell alone should have been warning enough).
Government data should be managed in-country by local government, or local companies that have zero ties with foreign interests.
Re: Watchdog 'disappointed'
AMBxx
Local government - you sure? All those USB sticks.
Anonymous Coward
Good thing they created it as well, wouldn’t want to have to deal with a public sector system that was full of inconsistencies, and errors. Sorry what’s that? Err, well umm no, I can’t explain why it is full of inconsistencies and errors. Maybe you are querying it wrong.
"The release was designed "to promote transparency in how information is used and shared"
Mike 137
The trouble with "transparency" after the fact is that there's no control or redress possible.
It's morally insufficient merely to declare "we abuse your data like this..."
and in conclusion...
The article missed the report's final conclusion: "...and if you haven't disclosed the register of data releases by next year then I will have no choice but to write another strongly worded report."