The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has replaced the free‑initial Palantir Foundry platform that powered the Homes for Ukraine matching service with an internally built system. The original tool, delivered at no cost for six months, soon ran into multi‑million‑pound operating fees as the scheme scaled to house over 157,000 refugees. Officials say the new stack offers tighter security and greater flexibility.

Senior digital lead Coco Chan explained that the in‑house solution migrated the live database onto a commercial platform they already owned, eliminating reliance on an external vendor. By reclaiming control of code and data, MHCLG estimates annual savings of millions of pounds, a figure echoed by the National Audit Office. The move also satisfies procurement rules that discourage zero‑price pilots intended to lock‑in suppliers.

Critics of big‑tech contracts see the switch as a step toward “sovereign technology,” arguing that civil‑service teams can outperform vendors when given resources. While external specialists still bring speed for emergency programmes, the MHCLG rollout, slated for full operation by September 2025, demonstrates that a bespoke platform can handle a national refugee‑housing effort without the overhead of a US‑based provider.