Speeches by Gill.

“Of course I am, because I went to physically see it. I spoke to clinicians, and they were able to show me how it works on the ward. You will know from your previous occupation that in a ward some hospitals have replaced the whiteboard with a digital system that tells them how many patients have had their ops, and who i…”

“You asked whether I am happy with the FDP and how it is being deployed?”

“I am happy with the FDP and how it is being utilised.”

“Let me start with that. I am assured, and have looked at it, that before the contract was put out for tender through the Government’s normal processes, there was a horizon scan about who had the capability. The NHS is not procuring a supplier; it is procuring capability.”

“We looked at British companies to see which had that capability. There was an exploration, and those companies simply did not exist. The Palantir contract includes companies that it was working with when it pitched for the contract. Three of the four are British companies. The other company is based in Northern Ireland…”

“Yes. Imperial College is doing the independent evaluation of the effectiveness of FDP, and it is also making sure that it is meeting its terms and conditions and contractual—”

“The contract will come up for review this year, in line with the standard contract management processes.”

“Let me come back to that. Imperial College is looking at the effectiveness of the FDP.”

“I am answering the question, but the question was: what is Imperial College doing?”

“It will always be my priority to buy British where that capability exists. However, as I said, the NHS is not procuring a supplier. It is procuring capability, and we have to horizon scan and look at who has that capability here in the United Kingdom.”

“It is about talking to businesses where we already know that they have some level of capability. Some of those businesses just do not, and this contract was about partnering with British companies. Let’s not forget that three of the four are British companies. They have British employees. One of them is a Northern Irel…”

“We should always be mindful of conflicts of interest, and you would expect any civil servant, as you would expect any politician, to make sure that they declare any conflicts of interest that may arise. My understanding is that when the contract was issued, none of those people cited in the FT were part of that convers…”

“I started off by saying that this was an operation system designed by the NHS for the NHS. Who controls the data? The NHS. Who decides how information is used? The NHS. Who decides how access to that information happens? That is the NHS. In the end, this is about patient outcomes, and that is what we have to look at.”

“I hear everything that you are saying, and I do not dispute that, but the question we have to be asking ourselves is: is this delivering for patients? Is it delivering for the taxpayer?”

“Is it operating safely and securely, because in the end, we want transformation.”

“I support the Chancellor.”

“Yes. I agree with you. I am not disputing that.”

“I can assure you that I absolutely agree with you. Governments should never become dependent on a single supplier. That is the premise of this Government. That principle applies not just here in the NHS but across Government. The NHS cannot afford to become locked into any individual technology provider. That is why th…”

“Absolutely not.”

“First, I am very sorry that happened, but nobody has access to the system without having a legitimate purpose, and all access is time-limited. It is audited. You know who would have access and what they need it for. There was an error by NHS England that meant that, in the data protection impact assessment that was ref…”